A Miracle Unexpected
by A Lost Diadem
Summary: Positive. The little blue plus sign starred up at me, going against every single thing I believed in.
1. Chapter 1

**Elena's P.O.V**

Positive.

The little blue plus sign starred up at me, going against every single thing I believed in. I put the pregnancy test down onto the counter and starred at it as I sat on the edge of the bathtub. My heart was beating rapidly in my chest. Even though I threw up thirty minutes ago, I felt like I had to throw up again. My palms were sweaty and my mind was running wild.

I was pregnant.

The reality of the entire situation hit me hard as I whispered those words to myself. I dropped my head and starred at the floor as I thought back to the night in December that caused this.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

"Stefan I don't want to stay home for another night," I complained to my boyfriend. We were fighting. Stefan wanted to spend another night in bed doing absolutely nothing while I wanted to go out. I lived in Mystic Falls my whole life, so I knew better than anyone else that there wasn't much to do in the small town. Stefan could have at least taken me to get a burger and play some pool at the Mystic Grille. I voiced my opinion and rolled my eyes as he ignored it.

"I'll cook here for you. I'll cook and then we can watch a movie," he had said.

"You're not getting the point, Stefan. I want to go out. We've done nothing but sit indoors for the past two weeks. Don't you want to do something different?"

He had frowned and shook his head. I groaned in frustration and threw my hands up in the air. I was ready to give up.

"Are you trying to say I'm boring?" Stefan asked. I could see that he was getting defensive as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"That's not what I'm saying, Stefan. I don't think you're boring. I know you're not boring, that's why I'm getting so mad right now," I explained.

We continued to argue for the next couple of minutes. I realized that I was getting nowhere with this argument. I grabbed my car keys from his table after putting my jacket back on.

"Stefan," I said, "If you want to stay home, fine. I'm going out. I'll talk to you tomorrow." I let him say nothing else after that and left, knowing he would give me my space. Stefan always gave me my space. That was one of the things I loved about him. I got into my car and drove away from the Boarding House, heading towards the Mystic Grill.

I parked my car down the block and pushed the door to the Grill open. It was crowded as it should be on a Friday night. I saw no sign of my friends which was a let down, but I didn't worry. I sent a quick text message asking Caroline if she was busy. While I waited, I sat at the bar and ordered a glass of soda.

"Rough night, Gilbert?"

As I heard the familiar voice, I wanted to bang my head against the car counter. I should have figured he would be there. If he wasn't drinking at home, he was drinking here. I swung the stool around to face Damon Salvatore. He was in his usual attire; black t-shirt, black jeans, and his signature leather jacket. He wore his usual smirk as he looked at me sitting at the bar.

"Can I help you, Damon?" I asked with a tired voice.

He took a seat next to me and ordered two bottles of beer.

"Drinking two at a time? You might want to go to an A.A meeting," I joked.

"One is for me," Damon said as he took the bottles. He slid one over to me and continued to smirk, "And this one is for you."

"No." I shook my head. I wasn't going to drink. That's not what I went to the Grill for. I repeated myself before telling him, "I'm not drinking. I'm going to stick with my soda and then play a game of pool."

Damon pouted, "Oh come on, Elena. Have some fun in your life."

"I don't need to drink to have fun."

"With me you do," he waggled his eyebrows at me and chuckled when I rolled my eyes. He waved the bottle at me. "Come on Elena, you know you want to."

That was one thing about Damon Salvatore that drove me crazy. Ever since I met him, he was able to see right through me. He knew every one of my thoughts and knew exactly what I wanted. I wanted the beer and he knew I did. I took it from his hands and popped the cap off, clinking the neck of my bottle with his. I held the bottle up to my lips and took a sip, starting off slow.

I watched as he took a sip as well and then placed the bottle down onto the bar. He looked back at me and I had to look away to avoid his intense blue eyes. He chuckled again before asking, "So why are you here and not with my saintlike brother?"

Just thinking of Stefan and the fight we got into made me angry all over again. I took a large sip from my bottle and clearly surprised Damon.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"It's not trouble in paradise," I sighed. The fight really wasn't that bad. I was just overreacting. "We got into a small fight. I wanted to go out and he didn't."

I guess Damon had found that bit of information amusing. He tossed his head back and laughed out loud, gaining the attention of a few bystanders. I glared at Damon until he sat back. He had a smile on his face from laughing, a rare sight to see, and I couldn't help but feel the glare slip away as I saw that smile. He noticed me staring and the smile faded. I felt disappointed.

"The boring vampire strikes again, huh?" Damon rolled his eyes. He shrugged his shoulders, "Well it's about time you realized how boring my brother can be."

"Stefan isn't boring all of the time!" I defended my boyfriend. I finished off my beer before pushing the empty bottle away. Damon ordered two more for us as I continued to talk. "Stefan can be fun but for the past two weeks he's wanted to do nothing but sit inside. I have friends that want to hang out. I don't want to sit inside all of the time when I can be out having a good time."

"So that's why you're here?" he asked as he handed me the second bottle. "To have a good time?"

I paused for a moment as I took the bottle from his hands. Our fingers brushed together and I felt a bit of a shock. I pulled away quickly, but never pulled my eyes away from his. I felt as if I was being compelled, but I could feel my locket wrapped around my neck. I nodded my head, answering yes to his question.

"Then a good time is what you'll have. Finish that beer. We're going to move on to the better stuff."

The next couple of hours passed quickly. Shots were taken one after the other. Bets were made over pool, followed by more shots. We were trashed, both of us. Damon hid it well, but I could tell that he was just as drunk as I was.

After a while we had no choice but to leave the Mystic Grill. We couldn't stay there all night. I stumbled out of the door, laughing at absolutely nothing. Damon followed closely behind me and bumped into me, sending us both into another fit of hysterics.

"Where should we go?" I hiccupped.

He pointed to me with a goofy grin, telling me that we should go back to my house. I told him we couldn't drive, so he pulled me onto his back. He was running at top speed. The colors around me were zooming by and I was amazed by them. I wanted Damon to keep running forever. Soon we were at my house and we tiptoed as quietly as we could up to my room.

I tripped into the room as I opened the door and started to laugh. Damon hushed me as he tried to stop himself from laughing. I closed the door and leaned against it with a wide smile on my face. He placed a hand on the side of my head and looked down at me with an expression I couldn't read. With my mind not clear, I didn't think of what I did next. I had moved closer to him, standing on the tips of my toes to brush my lips against his. I pulled away quickly with a shy smile on my face as I played with the ends of his hair. Damon smirked down at me as he pressed his body against mine. I moaned instantly, causing his eyes to light up with mischief.

In a flash he had me pressed into the mattress of my bed as he kissed me passionately. I felt as if my entire body was on fire as I arched my back into his body. He pulled away and moaned in my ear. Now I was the one smirking. I pulled his face back to mine and continued to kiss him, finding it hard to stop.

Hours later I was laying naked in my bed, Damon's naked body pressed against my back. His arm was wrapped lazily around my waist as he played with my fingers. My eyes drifted shut and soon I was falling asleep.

The next morning when I woke up, the hangover hit me hard. I stumbled out of bed to shut the window and pull the drapes shut. The light was killing me and the sooner I got rid of it, the better. I shivered because of the cold air and that's when I realized I was completely naked. I had no underpants on, not even a shirt. I rushed over to my dresser to dress quickly before crawling back into bed. As I laid my head on the pillow, I struggled to remember the events from the previous night.

The fight with Stefan was the first thing that popped into my mind. From there, I tried to connect the dots. The fight had led me to go to the Mystic Grill. There, I ran into Damon. We drank, played pool, drank some more…

That's when it all clicked in my head. I gasped and threw my hand over my mouth.

"Elena? Is everything okay?" The voice of my Aunt Jenna drifted through the door.

"Everything's fine!" I shouted. My voice was shaky and when I heard her say nothing more, I figured she went downstairs. I pulled the blankets over my head as the guilt sank in. I slept with Stefan's brother. I cheated on Stefan with his own brother, making me no better than Katherine Pierce. The guilt hurt and I sank lower into the mattress, wishing I could fix it all.

* * *

><p>New story.<p>

I had started this last month when my friend gave me the idea. I didn't plan on posting it until I had more than ten chapters finished. The only reason I'm posting this is because I know a lot of my readers are upset over the lack of Damon in my other story right now. This story has much more Damon. I'll continue updating the other story while writing for this one and I hope I can manage to make the updates frequent.

Also I know you must be really confused about how Elena could be pregnant with Damon's baby when he's a vampire. It will all be explained in the next chapter. I hope you all like the new story and continue to read both this one and my other story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Damon's P.O.V**

I was starting to find it horribly boring in Mystic Falls. It was a Sunday and I had nothing to do. Going to the Mystic Grill was getting old. Stefan was out hunting Bambi and Thumper. Alaric was out with Jenna. That left me with one person to bother. Elena.

Just thinking about her had me walking over to pour myself a glass of bourbon. I hadn't spoken to Elena in a while. The last time we spoke was in January and it was now February. After our little night of drunken activities, Elena thought it would be best to "forget it ever happened because it was wrong and if Stefan found out, he would be crushed". That was actually what she said too. I remember it crystal clear. When she said that, I laughed in her face. She looked so pissed off at me for doing that.

I couldn't resist pissing her off a little more. I knew that night meant something to her. I could tell in the way she moved against me, the way she kissed me, and the way she looked at me. Elena was scared of what happened that night. Despite that, I gave her what she wanted and stopped talking to her. I left her to continue with her relationship with Stefan. It made me laugh now when I thought of their relationship. What I once thought to be perfect actually wasn't. While Stefan thought Elena was the perfect girlfriend for him, I knew she wasn't. I knew Elena felt as if Stefan could get boring. It all made me laugh.

I dumped the idea of calling Elena up. I knew what she would do. "Damon I told you to leave me alone. I'm got going to hang out with you." Blah, blah, blah.

I didn't need to call Elena because as I stood in front of the window, my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and smirked as I saw her name on the screen. I answered it quickly and spoke into the phone, "Why hello, Ms. Gilbert? Have you realized that you miss me too much to push me out of your life?"

I expected a comeback from her. I expected some sort of rude remark. I expected her to yell at me. None of that came and I began to worry.

"Damon I need you to come over," Elena said after what seemed like a lifetime.

"I'll be there in five minutes," I said. I hung up after that and finished the rest of my bourbon.

"Who was on the phone?"

I turned and saw my brother standing by the stairs. I smirked at him, "Did you have fun with your furry friends?"

He ignored my question and said, "It sounded a lot like Elena."

"That's because it was Elena, dumbass. It's not like I'm friends with Katherine."

"You're not friends with Elena, either."

I looked at my brother with a stoic expression. His attempts at going back at me were pathetic, only getting worse day by day. I put my glass down before walking over to him. "Obviously I'm friends with her if she's calling me, asking me to come over."

Stefan was surprised and I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to respond.

"Are you going?" That was all Stefan had said.

I laughed as I grabbed my leather jacket from behind him. "She asks, I come. I'm easy like that," I repeated my words to Elena to him as I swung my jacket on. Neither of us said anything more to each other. I left the house quickly and got into my car. I drove at my usual speed to Elena's house. I parked in front of her house and walked up the porch steps. I rang the doorbell. No answer. I pushed the front door open, expecting it to be locked, but it wasn't. I was growing more worried as the seconds ticked by.

"Elena?" I called out. She wasn't in the living room and she wasn't in the kitchen. I looked up the stairs and jogged up to the second floor of the house. Her bedroom door was open. Walking in, I saw that she wasn't in her bedroom. Instead she was in her bathroom.

I walked in casually and leaned against the doorframe. "I have arrived," I exclaimed. She said nothing. I walked into the bathroom and waved my hand in front of her face. "Hey," I said. She still gave me no response and just shook her head slightly. I turned to see find what she was staring at. My eyes found it almost instantly.

The pregnancy test stood out to me like a new leather jacket in a store would. I picked it up and saw that was positive. Elena was pregnant. I couldn't help but feel angry. She fought with me and told me she wanted to forget the night we had sex, but had sex with someone else. I felt betrayed. Why did I feel betrayed? It wasn't like she was my girlfriend. Now she was pregnant with their baby while she was still with Stefan. Even with our bad past and present, I knew my brother didn't deserve that.

"What the fuck, Elena?" I said in a low tone. Elena looked up at me for the first time that day and she looked like shit, to be honest with you. Her hair was a wreck and her eyes were bloodshot from all of the crying she must have done. I held up the pregnancy test and asked who else she slept with.

"No one," she cried. As soon as she began to speak, she started to cry again. I didn't move to comfort her. I stood where I was, still holding the pregnancy test. She had said she slept with no one else. That would mean the baby was mine. Both of us knew that wasn't possible. "Vampires can't procreate, but we love to try," I had said to her in the bar back in Georgia. It was impossible for a vampire to have children.

I snorted as I shook my head at her, "Nice try, Elena. I'm a vampire. I can't have babies. Who did you sleep with?"

"No one! Do you really think I would cheat on Stefan twice? This is your baby Damon! I don't know how, but it is!" Elena shouted.

By the way she was shouting, I could tell she was telling the truth. I suddenly felt exhausted for once in my long life. I leaned against the counter, thinking hard about how I would be able to procreate. I shut my eyes tight.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

I was sitting at the bar in the Mystic Grille, drinking my usual. Multiple women had come up to me during the one hour I sat there, clearly interested in me. I didn't know what was wrong with as I declined each and every offer, even the very tempting ones. I ordered another bourbon as yet another woman sat next to me. I looked over at her. She had dark hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and grey eyes. Her skin was dark. I couldn't help but feel attracted to such a good looking woman. I raised my glass to her as a way to greet her before taking a sip.

"You're Damon Salvatore," she spoke.

I didn't show the surprise I felt when she said my name. I smirked at her instead, "The one and only."

She smiled at me, "I've heard a lot about you, Damon."

I was intrigued by her and asked what she knew.

"I know what you are."

All feelings of temptation and desire went away, replaced by feelings of defense and anger. I looked at her with dark eyes, knowing she wasn't joking.

"You're a vampire who's fallen in love with his brother's girlfriend," she told me. I rolled my eyes as she mentioned Elena and drank my bourbon within seconds, quickly ordering another one.

"Your reaction confirms it," she laughed.

"Listen, maybe if you tell me who you are and you leave me alone, I won't take you outside and kill you," I grinned at her.

"You don't need to know who I am, Damon. You'll find out when the time is right. What you do need to know is that you are a great person."

I snorted and shook my head at her.

"I'm here to tell you that great changes will be coming your way, Damon Salvatore. All you need to do is be patient."

* * *

><p>I never noticed how fast she poured a clear liquid into my drink from a vial. I never noticed how well she did it. I never noticed the liquid mix with the bourbon. I never noticed it all. After she had told me of the "great changes" that would be coming, she left. I drank my bourbon as fast as I drank the last one before stepping away from the bar momentarily. Now with the pregnancy test in my hand, the pieces connected themselves. I guessed that the woman had been a witch and slipped me something that allowed me to be able to procreate for the night.<p>

That's when the reality of the situation hit me hard. I had slept with my brother's girlfriend and now, she was pregnant with my baby, a baby I wasn't supposed to have. I looked at Elena and sat next to her on the edge of the tub. She looked at me, still crying, and I felt horrible like I always did when she was upset. I pulled her into my arms and rubbed her back in a circular motion, trying to calm her down. "It's going to be okay," I whispered over and over. I didn't believe my own words. I had no idea if it was going to be okay.

I was genuinely scared for what was going to happen to us.


	3. Chapter 3

Elena's P.O.V

Going to school was the last thing on my list of things I wanted to do. Jenna kept knocking on my door yelling at me to get up. I didn't answer her.

"Elena you're going to be late for school," I heard her say from the other side of the door.

I groaned, knowing that I had to go to school. I told Jenna I was up and that I would be ready quickly so I could drive Jeremy and myself to school. I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and looked in the mirror. I looked like complete shit. My eyes had dark circles underneath them from my lack of sleep and my eyes were swollen from all of the crying I had been doing. As I brushed my teeth, my eyes drifted to the tiny trashcan where the positive pregnancy test was hidden.

I still couldn't believe I was pregnant and I probably would never believe it. Before I took the test I tried so hard to convince myself that I wasn't, but all of the signs were there. I hadn't gotten my period, which told me right away that something was off. I was throwing up a lot, but I tried to pass it off as food poisoning. I was tired, I was getting headaches repeatedly, and don't even get me started with craving different kinds of foods at random times.

Everything led to me being pregnant, but getting pregnant was supposed to be impossible for me. I slept with Damon who is a vampire. Vampires can't procreate. This sort of thing wasn't supposed to happen. Abortion was an option, but I was against that. There was nothing I could do. I would have to keep the baby.

I walked back into my room and got dressed before I grabbed my schoolbag. I walked down the stairs and felt a wave of nausea hit me as I smelt waffles.

"Elena do you want something quickly before leaving?" Jenna asked me.

I shook my head and kept my mouth closed. I didn't answer her in fear of vomiting all over the stairs. Instead, I rushed out of the door and got straight into my car. A few minutes later, Jeremy got in too.

"Elena are you alright?" he asked.

I looked over to him and tried to give him a reassuring smile. He was worried and I figured Jenna was too. "It's all good. I just have a test that I was supposed to study for but I totally forgot," I lied. I hated lying to Jeremy but for now, I had to lie.

Jeremy laughed, "I've been there before. Don't worry about it. You're one of the smartest kids in school. One test won't kill you."

I faked a laugh before starting the car. I pulled away from the curb and started driving.

The car ride was silent and for once in my life, I was so happy that we lived so close to the school. I parked the car and said goodbye to Jeremy as he went his own way. As I was swinging my bag over my shoulder, my phone rang. I took it out of my pocket and saw that it was Damon. I hesitated, not knowing if I should answer it. I did anyway and said hello.

"Are you at school?" Damon asked me.

"I have to be here, Damon. Where else would I be?"

"You don't have to be there. You don't have to be anywhere. You just think you have to. I'm coming to pick you up. We have things to figure out."

"No," I said. I leaned against my car as I spoke, "You're not coming to get me. You can pick me up after school." It wasn't the best idea to spend time with Damon and tell him to pick me up, but he was right. We did have things to figure out, like how I was pregnant with his child. We both needed to figure out what was going on.

"Fine. I'll pick you up after school," Damon agreed.

We ended the conversation and I headed into the school. I went over to my locker to get my books for the first few periods. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bonnie come over to me.

"Hey," Bonnie greeted me. "Where were you all weekend? No calls, no messages. I was worried."

I sighed and gave Bonnie a small smile. I apologized, "I'm sorry. I was busy all weekend."

"Is everything okay?"

I looked into my locker and felt like crying. Is everything okay? No. Nothing was okay. I wasn't sure if things would be okay ever again. I couldn't tell Bonnie yet. I couldn't tell anyone yet, especially not at school.

"What's up you two?"

I slammed my locker shut as Caroline joined Bonnie and I. The girls jumped and I apologized again. I went to walk away but Bonnie grabbed my arm. I turned and looked at her. Her face was blank and she was staring at me with wide eyes. I knew she had seen something. I yanked my arm out of her grip and left quickly, saying I had to get to class.

The first few periods flew by, but maybe it was because I wasn't paying attention. I knew Bonnie had seen something when she touched my arm and that worried me. I could only imagine what she had seen and hope that I was just being crazy.

Lunch had come fast. I stepped into the cafeteria slowly. The smell of food was unbearable and I wanted to run to the bathroom, but I knew I couldn't. Bonnie and Caroline already had seen me, and as if those two weren't enough, Stefan was with them. I hadn't seen him all day.

I walked over to their table with a smile, trying to act as if everything was perfectly fine. "Hey guys," I said to them as I sat down.

"Hey," Stefan leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

"Are you okay?" Caroline asked me.

I nodded, "Yeah. I'm fine. I'm sorry about this morning. I had to get something done."

Just like Jeremy did this morning, Caroline bought my lie. She jumped up from the table and left to get some food. I looked over to Bonnie and wanted to bang my head onto the table. I could tell she wasn't convinced. That made me worry ten times more than I was in class before. I could tell Stefan was confused as he looked between us.

"Are you sure everything is okay?" Stefan asked. He placed his hand on my lower back and I patted his leg. I nodded at him with a smile, saying that I was fine.

Caroline came back and set her food onto the table. I looked over to her tray and regretted it almost instantly. I had no idea what she was eating, but the smell was horrible. I closed my eyes and tried to push back the contents of my stomach, but this time I couldn't. I excused myself from the table and ran quickly to the bathroom. I slammed the stall door open and dropped down to my knees. For what seemed like the millionth time in the past week, I started to throw up. I felt a hand pull my hair back and another hand start rubbing my back. When it was all over, I sat down and wiped at my mouth. I opened my eyes and saw Caroline and Bonnie staring at me in concern.

"Come here," Caroline picked me up carefully and brought me over to the sink. She took a paper towel and wet it a little bit. She started dabbing at my mouth.

"Elena what's going on?" Bonnie asked. She had her arms crossed across her chest. The way Bonnie was looking at me told me that she already had it figured it out.

"You already know, Bonnie," I whispered.

Caroline looked over to Bonnie with a questioning look.

"You can't be pregnant, Elena," The witch shook her head.

"You're what!" Caroline shouted.

I hushed Caroline and told her to be quiet. Even though no one was in the bathroom with us, I didn't want anyone outside hearing.

"I really don't want to have this conversation in school. I don't want people to hear," I told them. I pushed myself off of the counter. I looked at them with sad eyes, "I don't know what's going on. I'm going to get it all figured out after school."

A moment of silence passed between us before Bonnie broke it. "Come to my house after school."

That's all she said. Bonnie walked out of the bathroom and Caroline followed after giving me a small hug.

After the moment in the bathroom, the rest of the day went by fast. I got my things from my locker quickly, eager to get to Bonnie's house and figure everything out.

Stefan came over to me and I smiled at him.

"Do you need a ride home?" he asked me.

I shook my head, "No. I'm actually going to Bonnie and Caroline's house. I'll call you later."

He smiled down at me and leaned in for a kiss. I turned my head at the last moment and felt his lips press against my cheek. He frowned. I shrugged my shoulders and lied again, "I have a cold. I don't want you to catch it."

Before he could explain to me that vampires couldn't get sick because of a cold I walked away quickly and exited the school. I could see Damon standing next to my car and he waggled his fingers at me when he spotted me.

"Get in the car," I said. To my surprise, he listened without making any comment. I drove away quickly, worried that Stefan would spot us leaving.

"What's the rush, Cinderella? Afraid of getting caught?" Damon joked.

"I don't want to be asked anymore questions. This entire day was spent answering questions and I'm sick of them," I snapped. I looked over to him and saw that he was taken back. "I'm sorry. Today was just bad. Bonnie and Caroline know."

"How the hell does Judgey and vampire Barbie know?" he shouted.

"Bonnie figured it out. She grabbed my arm and I don't know what she saw but whatever it was wasn't good and then I threw up in the bathroom during lunch and her and Caroline ran after me," I spoke fast.

"So what now? Are they coming to get me?"

"They don't know the baby is yours." I turned around the corner and drove down Bonnie's block. "We're going to Bonnie's house."

"So they can stake me in person? Wonderful," Damon rolled his eyes.

I stopped in front of Bonnie's house and looked over at him. "Hey," I said. He looked over at me with a blank expression. I placed my hand on his arm with a small smile, "I won't let them stake you."

The corners of his lips lifted up for a brief second before he got out of the car. I followed him and we both walked up the porch. I knocked on Bonnie's door and we waited for her to answer. She answered it quickly.

"Hi," I said.

"Why is Damon here?"

"I'm here to hang out with my three favorite girls!" he exclaimed with fake enthusiasm.

"I'm not inviting him in. He has to go," Bonnie said to me.

"You have to invite him in," I told her.

"Why?"

"Because he's the Father of the baby, Bonnie. Now let us in," I demanded. At this point, I was beyond frustrated. All I wanted was answers.

Bonnie said nothing to what I told her. She invited him in before storming off into the kitchen. I followed her quickly, urging her to listen to all that I had to say. She stopped by the kitchen table where Caroline was sitting.

"Damon is the Father, Elena? Are you kidding me?" she yelled at me.

I put my hands up in front of me, "Bonnie I really don't need you to yell at me right now."

"Stefan is your boyfriend Elena and you're pregnant with his brother's baby! Does that sound wrong to you because it sure as hell sounds wrong to me!"

"Bonnie, let Elena explain," Caroline tried to calm Bonnie down. I smiled at her in appreciation.

Damon stepped in behind me and leaned against the doorframe with his arms across his chest, "Elena and I got drunk, very drunk. We ended up having sex."

"And now she's pregnant," Bonnie said.

"I don't know how that part happened, Bonnie, and neither does Damon. I was beyond drunk and it was wrong of me, I know." I walked over to her and looked at her with pleading eyes, "You can't be mad at me for something I had no control over. I didn't know what I was doing."

"Elena vampires aren't supposed to procreate," Caroline said.

"We know that, Barbie," Damon yawned.

"I'm glad you're yawning while we're discussing the baby you're not even supposed to have," Bonnie yelled at him.

Damon pushed himself off of the wall and moved closer to us. I turned and pushed him back before facing Bonnie again, "Stop yelling at him."

"I was slipped something before I got completely trashed," Damon said. I had never heard that piece of information before. I turned to look at him and asked what he meant.

"It was probably some witch," Damon looked at Bonnie when he said that. "Some woman had come up to me. She told me that I was a great person, like I didn't know that already, and told me that great changes were coming my way."

I looked back at Bonnie, "Do you know anything about something that could have been slipped in his drink?"

She told me she would check her Grimoire and left the kitchen quickly to go upstairs. I sat down at the table next to Caroline while Damon walked around the kitchen. "Are you mad at me?" I asked Caroline.

She shook her head and touched my hand gently, "I'm not mad at you. I'm worried about you, but not mad."

I leaned over in my chair to hug Caroline. I was happy that she wasn't mad at me. She hugged me back and told me that it would all be okay. I didn't believe her, but I nodded my head anyway.

"Can I get a hug too?" Damon snickered.

Caroline gave him the finger before rolling her eyes.

"Fertility potion."

We all turned to look at Bonnie. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"You were slipped a fertility potion. It can only be made once every one hundred years and given to one vampire," Bonnie explained.

"And I was the one chosen?" Damon asked.

"Apparently so," Bonnie said.

I looked over at Damon and saw that he had another blank expression. I stood up and touched his arm lightly, "Are you okay?"

He said nothing and I started to worry about him. He looked down at me and I saw fear in his eyes. He excused himself and rushed out of the house.

I sat back down and put my head in my hands. My shoulders started to shake as I began to cry. I heard the sounds of a chair being pushed back. Caroline wrapped her arms around my shoulders and slowly rubbed my hair. I appreciated the comforting actions, but nothing helped. Hearing an explanation confirmed it all. I really was pregnant with a vampire's baby. I sobbed, knowing things were beyond messed up.

I felt Bonnie's arms go around me too. It was only when I felt tears falling on my head when I realized my friends were crying with me.

"It'll be okay, Elena," Bonnie cried. "It'll be okay."


	4. Chapter 4

**Damon's P.O.V**

I left Judgey's house as fast as I could. Elena had driven me there, so I had no car. The only option I had left was to run back to the Boarding House. That, however, was the last thing I wanted to do. If I went to the Boarding House, I would see my brooding brother. If I saw my brooding brother, I would have to deal with him. Instead of going there, I ran into the woods and headed to the ruins of our old house.

I sat down in the ground and looked out into the darkness. My phone rested in my hand. I had two missed calls from Elena. Besides the calls, I had a number of text messages from her. I read them one by one.

_Where did you go?_

_Damon talk to me._

_I'm worried about you._

The last one I read got to me. As I read it, I had to take a deep breath.

_Damon it'll be okay. We'll get through this together._

Would we? Did she mean it? Or was she just trying to make me feel better?

Elena wasn't supposed to get pregnant. She was supposed to forget about that night we spent together in December. That's how she wanted it to be. Now Elena would never forget about that night. I should have noticed what that woman was. I should have noticed she poured the potion into my drink. This was entirely my fault.

I tugged on my hair and leaned my elbows on my kneecaps, letting out a shattering scream. What the fuck was I supposed to do? I was a monster. How could someone like me be a Father? I wouldn't be able to do it. I'd turn out just like my Father, but even worse.

What if there was something wrong with the baby? Would it be born half vampire like that baby from the Twilight series? Just thinking of that made me cringe. What if something happened to Elena? I would never be able to live with that.

I love Elena Gilbert. I love every single thing about her. Besides Alaric, she is the only friend that I have here in Mystic Falls but at the same time she is so much more than a friend to me. She is beautiful, inside and out. Despite all I had done to her, to her friends, and to her family, she still managed to find it in her heart to forgive me. Let's face it; people like myself should never be forgiven. Elena forgave me, though. She doesn't look at me as if I was coldblooded killer. She looks at me as if I were human. She makes me feel human.

If Elena were to die because of my baby, I would step out into the sunlight and take my own life. A life without Elena was not worth living, especially if I took some part in her death. I couldn't live without her. I don't know how I ever did.

I stood up and began to walk back to the Boarding House. I walked slowly. I still didn't want to deal with Stefan. Not only that but I couldn't look him in the eye. Stefan was my little brother. It was my job to protect him, a job that I've kept since the day he was born. It wasn't my job to hurt him. Katherine tore us apart and as if that weren't enough, fate threw Elena at us. I tried so damn hard not to fall in love with her. She made it too easy for me. Now Elena was pregnant with my baby while dating Stefan. It was going to kill him. I felt like shit.

I made it back to the Boarding House way too fast for my liking. I had nowhere else to go, though. I pushed the front door open and shut it behind me, heading straight to my bottle of bourbon. I poured myself a glass and drank it slowly. I heard Stefan open his bedroom door and come downstairs.

"Hey," he said to me.

I kept my eyes on the fire as I said hello back to him. I couldn't look at him. The guilt was too much.

"You seem off," Stefan observed. He sat down on the couch and I could feel him looking at me.

"Me? I feel great," I lied. I took another sip from glass.

"I don't believe you, but if you don't want to talk, fine," he gave up quickly on trying to figure out what was wrong with me. As always, he switched the subject to Elena. "Have you talked to Elena today?"

"Nope. I haven't spoken to her."

I looked over at Stefan and saw him frown. I finished the rest of the bourbon in my glass before pouring myself some more.

"I'm worried, Damon."

I tilted my head at him, asking him to explain why he was worried.

"Elena seems off. Today at lunch she ran out of the cafeteria. She hasn't been talking to me. I offered her a ride home after school, but she said no, and she just disappeared. I can't figure out what's wrong with her, Damon, and it's bothering me so much. I know you guys are friends and I thought she might have said something to you."

"Nope. Sorry, little bro. Elena has said nothing to me," I lied again. I turned around and faced my back towards him. I was feeling more and more guilty with every word that came out of my mouth. This wasn't like me, but I knew I fucked up really bad this time. Stefan didn't deserve this. It should be his baby that Elena was having, not mine.

As if he didn't say enough to make me feel like shit, Stefan kept talking. He said in a whisper, "I'm afraid of losing her. I can't lose her, Damon. I love Elena."

I couldn't say anything to that. I closed my eyes and silently wished for him to leave the room. I got my wish a few minutes later. I heard Stefan stand up from the couch, but still didn't turn around.

"I'm going to go give her a call and then get some sleep. Good night, Damon," Stefan left the room and I listened to his footsteps on the stairs. I heard his door close and soon I heard Elena's voice coming from his phone.

Just hearing her voice pushed me over the edge. I dropped my glass to the ground and practically flew out of the house. I needed blood and tonight, the bags wouldn't cut it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Elena's P.O.V**

Cheerios seemed to be the only thing I was able to eat without running to the bathroom afterwards. I sat on the couch eating my fifth bowl of the day while watching Cake Boss, wishing I could have a piece of cake. As I ate, Jenna came into the living room and sat next to me.

"What's he making now?" Jenna asked about the show.

I pointed my spoon at the television, "He's working on a cake for some crazy Sweet 16."

Jenna sat with me and together we finished watching Cake Boss. Another episode began but before I could watch it, I had to get myself another bowl of Cheerios.

"You're eating a lot of Cheerios lately," Jenna mentioned while watching me pour the cereal into my bowl.

I shrugged my shoulders, acting as if nothing was wrong. I said to her, "I just like them." I poured the milk into the bowl and went back into the living room.

"How's Stefan doing? I haven't seen him around in a while," Jenna inquired as she moved around the kitchen.

I frowned. I had spent no time with Stefan in the past week. I felt horrible, but I couldn't be around Stefan. He deserved to know about the baby but I didn't want to tell him without talking to Damon about it first.

"Stefan's um…" I hesitated, trying to come up with something to tell Jenna. I turned around to look at her, "He's been really busy."

My Aunt shrugged her shoulders and I watched as she grabbed her car keys from the kitchen counter. "You should invite him over for dinner this weekend," Jenna suggested.

"Maybe. I'll talk to him." I quickly changed the subject, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going out for dinner with Ric. Jeremy is out at the library. I'll be back later tonight. Will you be okay by yourself?"

I nodded and told her that I would be upstairs getting schoolwork done. She said goodbye and I waited patiently to hear her car drive away. Once I did, I picked my phone up from the coffee table and dialed Damon's number.

"What's up, Elena?" He answered quickly.

"We need to talk. Get here as soon as you can." I hung up the phone and stood up from the couch so I could put my empty bowl into the sink. I went upstairs and opened my bedroom door. I saw Damon sitting on my bed with a smirk. I jumped slightly, startled by his sudden appearance.

"Hello to you too," Damon chuckled.

"You could have knocked," I complained.

"That takes too much time. I would have to wait for you to answer the door, then I would have to walk up the stairs. It's so much easier to just zoom into your room," he grinned.

I rolled my eyes at him before taking a seat on my bed and leaned against the headboard. He turned around to look at me.

"So what exactly do we need to talk about?"

I decided to cut straight to the point of him being there. "Stefan. We need to talk about Stefan," I answered.

He rolled his eyes before laying on his back. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked at me.

"Don't give me that look. Stefan needs to know. We can't hide it from him anymore."

"Stefan is going to kill me. I got lucky with Bonnie and Caroline, but I doubt I'll have that luck when it comes to Stefan."

"So what do you suggest we do, Damon? Wait until the baby is born?" I glared at him, slightly annoyed at that he didn't want to tell Stefan.

"Why do we have to tell him now? Can't we wait a while?"

"No, Damon! We can't wait a while!" I yelled. "This is your brother and my boyfriend! He has a right to know that I'm pregnant with his brother's baby!"

He sat up and glared back at me. "And how do we tell him that, Elena? How do we tell my darling brother that we got trashed one night, had sex, then found out I was slipped a fertility potion and knocked you up?" Damon sneered.

I didn't back down. Instead I sat up on my knees and continued to yell at him, "We're going to be honest! That's how we're going to tell him. We're going to tell him everything that happened and that's it."

Damon looked back at me and I could see his anger slip away. His blue eyes were softening and as they did, I felt myself calm down.

He nodded his head and looked down at the blanket. "Call Stefan," he told me.

I dialed Stefan's number, already feeling sick. I waited for him to answer and while I did, I looked at Damon. He looked worried and I felt bad for yelling at him.

"Hey baby," Stefan answered the phone.

I closed my eyes and bit down on my lip. When he said things like that, I felt horrible. "Stefan can you come over?"

"Of course I can. Is everything okay?"

"Just um…just come over."

"Alright. I'll be there soon. I love you, Elena."

I took a deep breath to stop myself from crying. "I love you too Stefan," I said before hanging up.

I did love Stefan. He was everything I wanted and I never wanted to hurt him. I knew that it was a huge possibility that he might leave me once Damon and I told him I was pregnant. I wouldn't be able to blame him if he did, but I hoped that he wouldn't. I couldn't stand the idea of losing Stefan.

Damon and I didn't talk at all while waiting for Stefan to come over. I sat against my headboard with my teddy bear in my lap while Damon sat on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his kneecaps as he looked at the floor.

I heard the door open downstairs and sat up straighter. There was no turning back now. Damon turned to look at me and patted my knee gently. He gave me a small smile and I gave one back, praying that everything would turn out somewhat good.

Stefan's footsteps were heard coming up the stairs and soon he was standing in the doorway. He looked at his brother and I in confusion.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We need to talk to you," I said to him.

He took a few steps into the room and stood at the bottom of my bed. "What do you mean?"

Damon stood up and I closed my eyes, knowing he was going to be straightforward with Stefan.

"Elena and I slept together."

And there it was. Now there really was no turning back now. I opened my eyes and looked at Stefan. He looked between Damon and I a few times. I could tell he knew it was the truth once he looked at me. He didn't have to ask any questions. My face gave it away.

"When the fuck did this happen?" Stefan growled.

"It happened in December. It was after our fight and I was beyond drunk. I had no idea what I was doing, Stefan," I explained.

"You slept with my brother, Elena!" he screamed at me.

I held back tears. I couldn't cry now. The worst part wasn't even over yet.

"Stefan, there's more," Damon said. He looked over at me with concern. I could see it in his eyes that he wanted to know if I was going to be the one to tell Stefan that I was pregnant. I nodded my head.

"More? What else could there possibly be, Damon?" Stefan continued to yell.

"I'm pregnant, Stefan."

Stefan's head snapped back in my direction. His eyes were dark as he shook his head. "That's not possible," he muttered.

"I was slipped a fertility potion before Elena showed up at the Grille. I had no idea it happened," Damon explained.

Stefan turned his back on Damon but quickly turned back around. I watched in horror as his eyes turned red and the veins underneath began to show. He threw Damon into the wall and I screamed at him to stop.

"That's my girlfriend, Damon! What the hell is wrong with you? Was this revenge or something? Was this your way of getting back at me because of Katherine?" Stefan screamed at Damon.

I pleaded Stefan to stop but never ran over to him in fear of what might happen if I did. Damon wasn't even fighting back and I had no idea why.

Stefan continued to yell despite all that I was saying. He didn't stop until Damon stood up from the floor. He looked at his brother momentarily and vanished out of the window.

I looked away from the window and looked at Stefan's back. He was breathing heavily. When he turned to face me, I was relieved to see his eyes were back to normal and the veins were gone. I was careful with my words, knowing he could switch back quickly.

As I looked at him, I lost all composure that I somehow managed to keep the entire time. Once one tear fell, the rest fell rapidly. "I'm so sorry, Stefan. I never meant to sleep with Damon and I never wanted any of this," I cried. I pulled my legs up and wrapped my arms around them. I laid my head down on my arms as I kept crying.

The last thing I expected was to have Stefan come over to me and pull me into his embrace. This made me cry even more. He rubbed my back gently and we rocked back and forth slowly. "I'm so sorry," I apologized repeatedly.

"I know, Elena. I know you are," he whispered. He kissed the top of my head, "We'll figure something out. I'm not leaving you."

Hearing him saying he wasn't leaving was such a huge relief, but I knew it wouldn't be easy for us. Stefan would be there for me and knowing that made me slightly happy.

* * *

><p>Stefan knows now. Let me know what you think of in a review. :)<p>

And as for tonight's episode of TVD...OH MY GOD! I won't say anything specific just in case some of you didn't see it yet, but it was crazy!


	6. Chapter 6

**Damon's P.O.V**

Telling Stefan that Elena was pregnant went just as I had expected it to go. After how he reacted at Elena's house, I knew I couldn't stay at the Boarding House. Stefan would kill me the next time he saw. I didn't have a death wish.

I rushed upstairs into my room and grabbed a bag. I zipped it open and tossed it onto my bed. I packed a few shirts and pants as quickly as I could. My main goal was to get out as soon as possible to avoid a run in with my baby brother.

After I was packed and had the bag in my hand, I realized I had nowhere to go. In my haste to get a bag together, I never thought of a place to stay. My best option was to go over to Alaric's place and ask if I could stay a couple of days. I figured he would have no problem with that so I ran over there fast.

It was pretty late, but I didn't give a shit. Alaric wouldn't be sleeping anyway. I knocked on his door a few times. "Open up, it's me."

Alaric opened the door and I grinned at him, "Hello best friend!"

I strolled into the apartment with my bag and dropped it to the floor next to the couch. As if I lived there, I strolled over to where he kept his alcohol and worked on pouring him and myself a drink.

"It's eleven at night and you're here making drinks," Alaric pointed out.

"Very good observation, Mr. Saltzman!" I held out the glass to him and shook it at him.

He took it from my hands and tapped my glass with his before taking a sip.

I moved into the living room and sat on the couch, kicking my feet up to rest on the coffee table. I took a sip from my glass and cleared my throat, "So Ric, any idea if Isobel has any research on witches?"

"No. Not that I know if, at least," he answered. The way his head was angled told me that he was confused about the question I asked.

"Well is there anyway you can check?"

"All of Isobel's research is locked in my desk at the school. I go through it occasionally whenever I get a chance. Why are you interested in Isobel's research again?"

"Just being a Nosey Norton," I shrugged my shoulders as I took another sip.

"What's going on, Damon?" Alaric asked.

I gave him a blank look, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

He on the chair across from the couch while laughing, "I'm a history teacher by day and a vampire hunter by night. I have a vampire best friend and I used to be married to a woman who was turned by that best friend into a vampire. Hit me with your best shot."

I knew I could trust Alaric. I knew that unless I said it was okay, he wouldn't tell anyone about Elena, not even Jenna. I finished off my drink before coming clean with him. "Elena's pregnant."

Alaric looked at me, laughing slowly, but stopped when he realize I was serious. "Get the fuck out of here," he gasped.

I looked at my glass and realized I was going to need another drink to help me deal with telling Alaric everything.

"Elena is pregnant. Knocked up. Has a bun in the oven," I turned to look at him. "Catch my drift?"

"That's not possible," Alaric stammered.

"You know I said the exact same thing when I found out!" I said as I poured my second drink.

"How can she be pregnant? Stefan's a vampire. That can't happen."

I laughed obnoxiously. To me, it was hysterical that Alaric automatically thought it was Stefan's baby. At the same time, though, it pissed me off. I looked at him with dark eyes and tightened my grip on the glass. "The baby isn't Stefan's, Ric. The baby is mine," I confessed.

Alaric and I stared at each other for a moment. I could see the wheels in his head spinning as he tried to make sense of what I just told him. I moved back to the couch and sat down with my elbows rested on my knees, holding the glass in my hands. I rocked the glass back and forth slowly, watching as the liquid swished.

"Hold on. How the hell is Elena pregnant with your baby? What the hell happened? What haven't you told me, Damon?" Alaric shouted at me.

I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to cool down. I couldn't have him staking me or stabbing me with a vervain dart for sleeping with his girlfriend's niece. That would help absolutely nothing. "Are you good?" I asked after a moment.

"You need to tell me everything, Damon," Alaric demanded, "And you need to tell me now."

"Alright." I leaned forward and drank the entire contents of my glass before slamming it down onto the coffee table. "A few months ago in December, I was doing my usual thing at the Grill when this weird woman came up to me. She said a whole bunch of shit that isn't important enough to remember right now, but then she cut to the interesting stuff. She told me that I was a great person and that great changes will be coming my way."

"Very nice story but that doesn't explain how Elena is pregnant!"

I held up a finger and shook it, "Ah, ah, ah! Let me finish. I walked away from her because at that point, I thought she was crazy. I didn't walk away without finishing my drink. Elena walked in a few minutes later after getting into a fight with my wonderful little brother. We ended up drinking, got completely shit faced, and that led to sex."

"But you're a vampire. You shouldn't be able to procreate," Alaric stuttered with his words.

"I know I shouldn't," I snapped. I sat back on the couch and ran a hand through my hair. "I did though. The woman at the bar was a witch and she slipped me a fertility potion. I didn't notice. If I had did, Elena and I wouldn't be in this position now." I looked up at him, "It sucks, Ric."

He sat down in a chair and mimicked my actions by running his hand through his hair. "Did you guys tell Stefan? What about Jenna? Does she know?"

"The only people that know are you, Bonnie, Caroline, and Stefan. Why do you think I'm here?"

"I'm guessing when you told Stefan, he flipped out," Alaric assumed.

"Ding, ding, ding. Give him a prize," I looked down at the floor before looking back up at him. "Is it alright if I stay here?"

"Yeah. Yeah," Alaric nodded is head and stood up quickly. "I'm going to go to bed. You can take the couch or the guest room. We'll uh, we'll talk more about this tomorrow because right now, I just…yeah."

I had to laugh a little bit as Alaric walked out of the room. He really had no idea what to say about this. I decided to be nice and leave him alone for the night. I kicked my shoes off and threw my legs onto the couch. I looked up at the ceiling with my arms behind my head as I laid down.

"I'm going to be a Dad," I whispered into the darkness.

I was pretty sure Stefan wanted me dead for getting his girlfriend pregnant. I knew for sure her friends, with the exception of Caroline, would want me dead if they ever found out. Jenna would definitely try to kill me too. Despite all of this, Elena was pregnant with my baby. I loved Elena. Her being pregnant with my baby made me slightly happy. I smiled as I thought of Elena and the baby. Our baby.


	7. Chapter 7

**Elena's P.O.V**

It had been one hour. One hour since we told Stefan. One hour since Damon ran out. One hour since I had stopped crying. One hour since Stefan and I spoke. We both were lying on my bed looking up at the ceiling. Our bodies weren't touching, not even our hands. I couldn't deal with the silence anymore.

"Stefan" I whispered. I turned my neck to look at him. "I'm so sorry," I apologized again.

I watched as he closed his eyes. "I know you are, Elena," he whispered. Stefan turned to look back at me. His green eyes were filled with pain and I felt horrible. "Just answer this. Why?"

"I was drunk. I didn't know what I was doing."

"But to get drunk after a fight like that? It was a small fight, Elena. We've had worse."

I sat up in bed. I couldn't lay down anymore. I brushed my hair back and looked away from him. I couldn't look into his eyes anymore. "I didn't go there looking to get trashed. I went there looking for Caroline or Bonnie, but then Damon showed up and we started to drink."

I could practically hear all of the thoughts running through Stefan's head and none of them were good. I turned and saw him sitting up, his eyes dark. He was blaming his brother.

"Stefan, this was not Damon's fault," I said carefully.

"Yes it is, Elena. He took advantage of you!" Stefan exclaimed.

"No he didn't. Damon and I both are at fault. We both were drunk," I defended him.

Stefan looked bewildered when I defended Damon. His eyes narrowed in confusion, "Why are you defending the man who got you pregnant?"

"Because he didn't know. He didn't know," I crawled over to Stefan and sat on my knees in front of him. Bravely, I grabbed his face in my hands and held it in place. "You and I both know that if Damon knew the witch had slipped him something, he would have left the Grill."

Stefan had to say nothing else. As my words registered in his head, his eyes softened along with his face. I could feel the tension in his body slip away. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them. He nodded his head and mouthed the words, "I know."

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and he wrapped his around my waist. We held onto each other as if our lives depended on it.

"I'm going to be here for you, Elena," he whispered into my ear. He pulled away from the hug and held my face in his hands. He gave me a smile as he slowly rubbed circles into my cheeks with his thumbs, "No matter what. I love you and I won't leave your side."

My eyes began to tear as I smiled back at him. "I love you too," I said quietly. I leaned in and kissed his lips softly with no hesitation. He began to kiss me back and I felt my whole body relax. He turned us around and I felt my back hit the mattress. Stefan continued to kiss me slowly and I eagerly returned the kisses.

"Elena!"

Stefan jumped off of me and flashed over to the other side of the room. I sat up quickly, breathing heavily and frustrated at the intrusion. My bathroom door slammed open and Jeremy walked through it.

"Jeremy what's wrong?" I asked. He looked furious.

"What the hell is this?" Jeremy shouted. He opened his hand and in it was the pregnancy test. My body tensed up again and all I wanted was for Jeremy to leave so Stefan and I could continue what we had started.

"I'm waiting for an answer, Elena," he continued to shout. He looked over at Stefan, "What the hell did you do?"

I got up and rushed over to Stefan so I could stand in front of him. "Stefan didn't do anything, Jeremy."

Stefan touched my waist lightly. He said in a whisper, "I'm going to leave you two alone. I'll be back tomorrow. Call me if you need me."

Before I could say goodbye, he was gone. I looked back to Jeremy who was still looking furious.

"Elena please explain to me why I found a positive pregnancy test in our bathroom," Jeremy said. "Unless it's Jenna's and her and Alaric-"

I held my hand up, "It's not Jenna's, Jeremy. It's mine. I'm pregnant."

Just like everyone else I had told, he couldn't believe it. "That's impossible. Stefan's a vampire."

I sat down on my bed and took a deep breath, ready to explain it all. I told him to sit down next to me and when he did, I began to tell him everything. I started with the fight that I had with Stefan. Then I told him how I had gone to the Mystic Grille looking for friends but found Damon. I told him about how drunk we both were when we slept with each other, but sparred him the dirty details of the sex. I told him all about the fertility potion and how it had been slipped into Damon's drink without him realizing. I poined to the pregnancy test, "And now I'm pregnant."

"Holy shit, Elena."

I nodded my head. I couldn't believe it either.

"Does Jenna know?" Jeremy asked.

"No. She will, though. I'm going to tell her soon," I said.

"What about Bonnie? And Caroline? Who exactly knows? Did you tell Stefan?"

I leaned against my headboard, ready to answer his questions. "Bonnie and Caroline know. I kind of had to tell them when they caught me throwing up in the bathroom."

"So that's why you've been throwing up a lot," he realized.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Morning sickness has been suckish. I told Stefan tonight."

"And how did he take it?"

"He's angry, but he said he'll stand by my side," I answered him with a small smile.

Jeremy looked at the floor before looking back at me. He moved up on my bed and sat next to me to pull me into a side hug. "I'm on your side too," he kissed the top of my head. "I'll help you with whatever you need, Elena."

I smiled and hugged him back. "Thank you, Jeremy," I whispered.

As we laid on my bed, I felt as if we were little kids again. Even though I was older, I remember Jeremy used to come into my room when he or I would have nightmares. We would sit in the exact same position we sat in now until one of us fell back asleep. We weren't little kids, though. The monsters that once haunted us in our nightmares were real and we had to deal with them every day. I certainly wasn't a little kid. I was pregnant with a child of my own. When I found that out, I felt so alone, but now? Now I didn't feel alone. I had Jeremy who was family and would never leave my side. I had Bonnie and Caroline, two of the best friends anyone could ask for, who would never leave my side. I had Stefan, my boyfriend who I loved, who would never leave my side even though he had every right to leave. Then there was Damon. I had Damon, the Father of my child and the man who I knew loved me, who would never leave my side. Damon was always there for me and I knew it would be that way for the rest of my life.

I would never be alone in my life.


	8. Chapter 8

Damon's P.O.V

"Hey Ric," I called over my shoulder. "You ran out of alcohol!"

It was two in the afternoon and Alaric was still sleeping. I, on the other hand, had been up for hours moving about his apartment trying to keep myself entertained. I knew the only way to wake him up was to say he had no more alcohol left, insinuating that I drank it all, which would instantly get him out of bed.

I grinned as I heard his bedroom door open. My idea worked.

"What the hell did you do?" he groaned.

I turned and smiled at him, "Just kidding. You have plenty. Good morning sunshine."

"Fuck you, Damon."

"It's two in the afternoon. I had to get you up sometime. Go shower and get dressed. We're going out. Your apartment is too boring to stay in," I told him.

My phone rang and he glared at me when he realized he couldn't argue with me. Sure enough, he turned around and headed straight for his bathroom. I hit the answer key on my phone without checking to see who called and spoke into the phone, "What's up?"

"Damon. Hi."

It was Elena. I hadn't heard from her since the previous day when we had told Stefan the news. Not a long time, but it felt like that. "These calls are getting quite frequent, Elena. Anything you want to tell me?" I asked in a joking manner.

"Now's not the time for jokes, Damon," she sighed. I could practically see the frown etched into her face.

"Alright, alright. I'll stop…for now. What do you need?"

"What are you doing right now?"

"Raiding Alaric's refrigerator," I said as I opened up the door to his refrigerator. He had nothing in there, to which I wasn't surprised. I didn't expect him to have blood bags for me. I needed one badly.

"You're at Alaric's?" she asked.

"No. I'm actually in Georgia. I just took Alaric's refrigerator with me," I rolled my eyes as I shut the refrigerator door.

She ignored my sarcastic comment, as always, and continued to talk, "Do you think you could come to the Grill with Alaric?"

"That can be arranged. Why am I going to the Grill with Alaric?"

"We need to tell Jenna. I don't want to delay it any longer. I talked to Jeremy and-"

"Hold up. You told Jeremy?" I cut her off.

"I had to," she sighed. "He found the pregnancy test. I talked to Jeremy about it and I realized that I can't hide this from Jenna anymore. She's getting more and more curious as to why all I eat is Cheerios. She keeps asking Jeremy questions. Jenna needs to know."

I groaned. First Bonnie, then Stefan, and now Jenna would be coming after me along with Jeremy. Maybe with Alaric there, it wouldn't be so bad. I told Elena that Alaric and I would be there as soon as he got out of the shower and she said she would meet us there with Jenna. I hung up and ran my hand through my hair.

"Who was on the phone?" Alaric asked. He emerged from his bedroom fully dressed looking curious.

"Elena. You're coming with me to the Grill," I said as I grabbed my leather jacket.

"Why?"

"Because it's time that Aunt Jenna found out she'll be a great Aunt."

"Oh. Now I see why you want me to go with you," he mumbled under his breath. He threw on his coat and I grabbed my car keys. Both of us walked out of his apartment and to my car, wanting to get to the Mystic Grill as fast as possible.

The car ride was silent. Alaric, I'm sure, was thinking of ways he would have to calm Jenna down. I was thinking of ways to avoid getting myself killed. Lucky for me, Jenna had no idea that I was a vampire so her methods would probably not work unless she stabbed me with a wooden spoon.

When we walked into the Grill, I saw Elena and Jenna sitting down already in a booth. I smirked as I could hear their conversation.

"What's Damon doing here? And with Ric?" Jenna asked.

Elena turned to us and I waved my fingers at her.

"I don't know," Elena lied. She waved at us and I looked at Alaric. We both took deep breaths and headed over to the table.

"Hey," Jenna smiled up at Alaric. "I didn't know you were coming here today."

"Neither did I until twenty minutes ago," Alaric laughed nervously. He slid into the booth and shared a kiss with his girlfriend.

"Hello Jenna. My you are looking lovely today," I grinned. I might as well suck up to her before she tried to attack me.

She rolled her eyes and I chuckled as I slid into the both next to Elena.

"I called them here," Elena said as she ripped up her napkin into tiny pieces. She was nervous, I could tell. She looked at me and I gave her a comforting smile, trying to relax her a little.

"Why did you call them here? I don't mind Ric, but Damon?" Jenna smirked.

"I have feelings, Jenna," I faked offence.

No one laughed at her stab at offending me like they usually would. Elena kept ripping up her napkin and Alaric was flipping through the menu.

"Damon and I have something to tell you, Jenna," Elena mumbled under her breath.

"What is it? Did something happen to Stefan?"

"Stefan is fine," I rolled my eyes. Always Stefan.

"Jenna please don't be mad at me," I listened to Elena plead. I looked over at her and saw her looking at Jenna with sad eyes. She looked extremely pale and I was worried. I placed my hand on her back, trying not to seem awkward but comforting.

"What is it, Elena?" Jenna asked. She kept looking between Elena and I, very confused.

"I'm pregnant."

It was out. Elena looked down at the table and so did I. We both didn't want to look at Jenna. I glanced up quickly at Alaric. He was looking at his girlfriend nervously.

"Is this a joke or something?" she mumbled under her breath.

Elena and I shook our heads.

"And the baby… is it Stefan's?"

I looked up at her with a blank face. "The baby is mine," I admitted.

"Elena is this true?" Jenna asked.

Elena nodded her head, but never looked up at Jenna.

"Elena look at me!" She shouted.

"Jenna, keep it down," Alaric whispered.

"Don't tell me to keep it down, Ric!" She turned her fury to him. I actually felt bad. "Did you know about this?" she asked him.

He sighed and nodded, "Damon told me last night."

"Jenna I am so sorry," Elena whispered.

Jenna looked at both us, occasionally looking at Alaric. She shook her head and began to mtuter things under her breath. She pushed at Alaric, telling him to get out of her way.

"Aunt Jenna, wait!" Elena shouted.

"Elena I can't be around you right now. I can't be around any of you right now," she muttered.

Alaric got out of her way and Jenna rushed out of the Grill. Alaric said nothing else to us and followed his girlfriend out the doors. I looked over at Elena, feeling worried.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

She said nothing and I frowned as I saw her face turn a shade of green. I wasn't an idiot and knew what that meant. I jumped out of her way quickly and watched as she ran to the bathroom. I stood there for a moment but then I decided to follow her. I didn't care that she was in the girls room. That was the least of my worries. I pushed the door open and heard her vomiting in one of the stalls. I pushed the stall door open and kneeled down, lifting her hair out her face. "Let it out, Elena," I said to her in a whisper as I rubbed her back.

A few minutes went by and she finally finished. I left her momentarily to get a paper towel and dampen it. I kneeled down once more and gently washed her face for her.

"She hates me," Elena cried. "Jenna hates me."

I frowned, lowering my hand. "No, Elena," I whispered. "Jenna could never hate you."

"But she does. I've disappointed her. I saw it all over her face. She hates me!"

I said nothing, knowing my words couldn't comfort her or change her mind. Only Jenna could change her mind. I leaned against the wall and pulled her into my arms, rubbing her back and letting her cry. It was all I could do in that moment.


	9. Chapter 9

**Elena's P.O.V**

Damon picked me up from the floor and carried me out to his car. He explained to anyone who asked if I was okay that I had food poisoning. I wish that was the case. He buckled me into the passenger seat of his car before getting into the driver's seat. I took notice of the fact that he was driving slower than he usually did and I was thankful for that. I didn't think I could handle any type of speed in my condition.

We didn't talk during the car ride. He kept his eyes on the road and I kept my eyes on the passing trees. He was taking me home, but I didn't want to go home. I looked over at him to tell him that.

After a moment, he glanced over at me with a blank expression. "You have to go home, Elena," he said.

He was right. Damon was always right. I just didn't want to admit it most of the times. Even though I didn't want to go home, I had to go home. Jenna would be there and I needed to talk to her. I needed to explain myself. I needed to know that she would be there for me. At the Grill, it seemed like she really did hate me. To even think that my Aunt, one of the few family members I had left, hated me was horrible. I hoped Damon was right about her. I hoped that she didn't hate me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she did.

He pulled up in front of my house and shut the car off. The lights were on and Jenna's car was in front of Damon's. She was home. I took a deep breath and got out of the car, Damon following me.

We walked up the path and up the porch steps. I held my hand out over the doorknob, but couldn't find the ability to open it.

"You don't have to go in right now," Damon whispered softly. "I'll sit outside with you for a little bit if you want."

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding and nodded. He nodded too and we turned our backs to the door to sit on the steps. I looked up at the night sky. "Why did this happen to us?" I asked quietly. I hadn't meant to ask it out loud. I thought it was only in my mind.

I looked over at Damon and could tell that he had been asking himself that same question. Neither of us had the answer though. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm scared, Damon," I admitted to him.

"Scared of what?"

"Of being alone," I said quietly. "I'm seventeen years old and I'm pregnant. All of these scenarios keep running through my mind and they're terrifying me. What if Aunt Jenna doesn't want to help me take care of the baby and leaves me to handle it by myself? What if Jeremy, Bonnie, and Caroline go off and live their lives? What if Stefan doesn't want to be with me anymore because I cheated on him? And…and what if you decide that you don't want the baby?" The last question I asked quietly. I looked down at the ground and finished what I had to say, "I can't blame any of you if that happens and I'm so afraid of all of that happening."

"Elena you're talking crazy talk," he muttered under his breath. His hand went under my chin and he gently lifted my head up. Our eyes met. "None of us are going to leave you alone. Your family and your friends love you too much to do that. Are you going to have to do some things by yourself? Probably, but all parents have to do that, don't they? They won't abandon you. They would never do that," he said softly.

I never pulled my eyes away from his soft blue ones. I cleared my throat, prepared to hear his answer for my next question, "And what about you Damon?"

I watched as he wrinkled his forehead, his eyes still soft. He opened his mouth once or twice, but never answered me. He was thinking hard. After a while, he gave me a small smile. "That baby is mine too. I'm not going anywhere. I hate to break it to you, but you're stuck with me," Damon chuckled.

He leaned in and my eyes floated shut as his lips touched my forehead. Damon was telling the truth as always. No one would be leaving me, not even him. That made me feel more relaxed and I suddenly felt better.

Damon pulled away and stood up, helping me up in the process. The front door opened and Alaric stepped out.

"Hey you two," he said.

I waved at him but said nothing.

"Do you need a ride home?" Damon asked.

Alaric nodded and moved over to us. He gave me a hug and told me that Jenna was waiting for me inside. Alaric said goodnight and Damon did as well before the two of them headed into Damon's car. I watched Damon drive away before I walked into the house, closing the front door behind me.

I walked into the kitchen and saw Jenna sitting down at the table, a cup of coffee resting in between her hands. Both of us said nothing to each other as I sat across from her.

A few minutes passed before Jenna spoke. "I feel like I've failed at being a good guardian," Jenna said.

"Jenna…"

She held up one and hand, but never looked at me, and cleared her throat, "Let me finish, Elena. Miranda and Grayson chose me to be the guardian of you and Jeremy in the will. I don't know why they did. I fought it. I said that I wasn't a good option. It couldn't be changed and I promised that I would try my best to take care of you two. I feel like I've failed that." She looked up at me and I saw a few tears. "Elena how could this have happened? You're so much smarter than this," she cried.

I nodded, agreeing with her wholeheartedly. Seeing her cry made me cry and I hated that. "It was a mistake, Jenna. Stefan and I got into a fight and after, I left to go to the Grill. I wanted to hang out with someone to make me forget but no one was there. Damon showed up and both of us got really drunk then it happened. It was stupid. I was stupid. I didn't want this to happen," I explained.

"Have you told Stefan?" Jenna asked after a while.

"Yes," I said quietly. "Damon and I told him last night. He didn't take it well but he's going to be there for me."

"And Damon? What about him?" she muttered under her breath.

I sighed. I knew she hated Damon and I knew that she expected him to walk away. Everyone probably did, but I knew differently. "Damon's staying," I said confidently. "Damon is a lot of things, but this is his baby. He's going to be there for it and he's going to be there for me too."

"So you're keeping it?"

"Of course I'm keeping it, Aunt Jenna. It's my baby." A tear fell from my eyes and slowly slid down my cheek as Jenna looked at me. "I'm terrified and so many other things but I'm keeping it and I really need all of the help I can get. Please don't give up on me, Aunt Jenna," I cried.

Jenna pushed her chair back as I started to cry and rushed over to me, wrapping me in her arms. She stroked my hair as I cried, as I hoped that this meant she wouldn't be leaving me.

"You know I'm going to be here for you, Elena," she whispered into my hair. She kissed my head and held me tighter. "I love you. I'm not going to abandon you."

She loved me. She didn't hate me. My friends were going to stick by my side, along with Jeremy. Stefan didn't hate me either and he was going to stick with me. Damon wasn't leaving and was going to stay to help out with his baby.

Maybe everything _would_ be okay.


	10. Chapter 10

**Damon's P.O.V**

Two weeks had gone by since Elena and I told the important people about the baby. I had spoken to her briefly over those weeks but not every day. I hadn't even left Alaric's apartment. That was annoying him and I could tell.

It was Tuesday and he had to go to that thing called his job. As he moved around getting ready, I sat on his couch to watch some TV. A children's show called Spongebob Squarepants was on and I found it difficult to understand why children liked it so much.

"I don't get it. What's so comical about a talking sponge?" I questioned.

"I don't know, Damon. Why are you asking me?" Alaric asked tiredly.

"Because you're the only person I can ask right now," I smirked at him.

"Because he's a funny talking sponge. I don't know. I have to get to work."

"Aw come on, Ric," I whined. "Take the day off and hang out with your best buddy."

Alaric glared at me as he grabbed his jacket then sighed. "Damon, why don't you head back home? I've seen Stefan and Elena in school. They're perfectly fine meaning you can go home now," he said.

I gasped, putting my hand over my heart. "Alaric Saltzman, are you kicking me out?"

He groaned and opening the door, then shouted over his shoulder as he closed it, "Goodbye Damon!"

The door closed and I looked back at the TV. The yellow sponge was annoying me with his laughter, so I shut the TV off. With Alaric gone, I had no one to annoy. I started to think of what he said about me going back home. Maybe it was okay to go back now. In the brief conversations I've had with Elena, she had said that things between her and Stefan were good. That wasn't surprising to me at all.

"If I go back now, Saint Stefan won't be home," I thought out loud. He would be in school playing human with the other boys and girls, Elena included. I could always go home, go out around the time Stefan got home, then just go back late at night and stay in my room.

That seemed immature though. I thought about it. Was I really hiding from my little brother? I was stronger than him, faster than him, and smarter than him. Stefan could do no damage to me. Even if he did, I wouldn't deny the fact that I deserved it. I stood up and grabbed my leather jacket, putting it on quickly before picking up my car keys. I decided that it was time to go home and that it was time to face Stefan. I could deal with whatever happened.

I got into my car and drove at my usual speed. I was anxious to get home and sleep in my own bed instead of Alaric's couch. I got to the Boarding House pretty quickly, as always, and still had a while until Stefan got home from school. I wandered upstairs to my room and collapsed on my bed, instantly falling asleep when my head hit the pillow.

Hours had to have passed. I heard someone clear their throat. I lfited my head off of my pillow and looked over at the doorway groggily. I saw Stefan leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Welcome home," he said plainly.

I grinned at him, "Stefan! Little brother. How was school?"

"What are you doing back?"

I sat up and got out of bed, holding my arms out. "I missed you, brother dear."

He narrowed his eyes at me and I chuckled. You could never mess around with Stefan. "It was a joke. It wouldn't kill you to laugh at one once in a while." I pushed him out of the way gently and walked downstairs, heading straight for the bourbon. I knew I would need a glass or two of that stuff to get me through what was about to happen with Stefan.

"I'll ask again, Damon. Why are you back?" Stefan asked once more.

I turned to him after I poured myself a glass of bourbon. "It's my house too. I can come and go whenever I want to," I smirked.

"Not when you got my girlfriend pregnant."

The joking manner was gone as I took a sip from the glass. "How is Elena doing? I haven't really been able to speak to her."

Stefan crossed his arms across his chest and took a few steps closer to me. "Elena is fine. She's going to the doctor's today with Aunt Jenna. I offered to go but she said no."

I chuckled as I heard the hurt tone in his voice when Stefan said Elena didn't want him to go to the doctor's. "Of course she didn't want you to go. It's not like you're the Father," I said.

His eyes turned dark. I had pissed him off.

"I'm not the Father but I should be," he growled.

"Why should you, Stefan?"

"Because I'm her boyfriend, because I'm the one who is with her almost every day taking care of her. Where have you been, Damon? You've been hiding at Alaric's like a coward drinking nonstop."

"Now that's not true!" I defended myself. "I watched TV most of the time."

Stefan shook his head and unfolded his arms. "You don't deserve this baby, Damon. I know what exactly what you're going to do."

Now it was my turn to get pissed off. I moved closer to him and soon we were right in front of each other. "What am I going to do, Stefan?" I asked in a low tone.

"You're going to get bored. You're not going to help Elena out. When that baby is born, you'll stick around for a while, come see the baby maybe once or twice a week, and after a while, you're going to disappear."

I laughed in his face and took another sip from my glass. He was beyond wrong and I was going to tell him that. "Listen, little bro," I smirked. "Elena is pregnant with my baby and I know that grinds your gears, but deal with it. You have no idea how wrong you are. I'm staying in Mystic Falls for good now because that baby and Elena will not be left alone." I stalked away from him to pour myself some more bourbon. My glass was close to empty and I definitely needed more.

"Because you love her, right?"

I ignored his question. I didn't have to answer. He knew that I loved Elena. I knew it too. I loved everything about her. Elena in my eyes was a warrior. She fought for what she believed in and fought against what she didn't. She stood up for her friends, including me, and was always there for them and her family. Elena was put through a lot that she shouldn't have been through, but she held her head high through it all. She was strong. She was beautiful. She was perfect in every single way. She was also stubborn as hell, but I could deal with that. Elena cared for me, which is more than anyone else had done. How could I not love a girl like Elena?

"Answer the question, Damon."

I turned to face him. "I really don't feel like answering anymore questions, Stefan. Why don't you go out and find a bunny to eat? Maybe even a deer, if you're lucky?"

I was walking on dangerous territory by speaking to him like that but I didn't care.

"Elena is my girlfriend, Damon," Stefan said.

"No shit, Sherlock. You think I don't know that?" I rushed over to him in seconds. "This was an accident. I understand you're pissed off but you need to get over it. Elena is keeping that baby and despite what you may think, I am sticking around in this town to help her and be there for our baby. I don't need to answer to you about why I'm staying," I spat in his face.

Before I could even register what was happening, Stefan's fist swung at my fist and knocked me onto my back. The glass fell out of my hand and hit the floor, shattering into a million pieces. I stood up holding my chin. "So that's how you want to play? Fine." I rushed over and grabbed his shoulders, slamming him into the wall. He pushed me right back. Colors were flying around us as we zoomed back and forth, swinging punches left and right.

I hadn't wanted things to end up like this, but Stefan pushed me over the edge. If he wanted a fight, he was going to get a fight.


	11. Chapter 11

**Elena's P.O.V**

My last class was history with Alaric, or I guess I should say Mr. Saltzman. It seemed to drag on and on. I felt bad for not paying attention, but I couldn't focus. Jenna was picking me up from school and together we were going to my first doctor's appointment.

"Am I taking Stefan with us?" Jenna had asked me this morning when she dropped me off.

I said no and quickly made my exit from the car.

I looked over at Stefan as he pretended to take notes. He didn't know I was going to the doctor's since I hadn't told him. I didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying I didn't want him to come with me and knowing him, he would have definitely offered. I didn't want to take Stefan to avoid hurting Damon and I didn't want to take Damon to avoid hurting Stefan. Instead, I asked Jenna. She was the better option anyway since she was an adult.

The minutes ticked by slowly. I put my head on the desk and hoped time would go faster if my eyes were shut.

A few minutes went by before I heard Alaric say my name.

"Elena," he said.

I lifted my head off of the desk.

"Head up, alright?" he asked.

"Sorry, Mr. Saltzman," I apologized.

He went back to his lesson and I rubbed my eyes. Now I felt tired. I pulled my hands away when I heard something hit my desk. It was a folded up piece of paper, most likely a note. I unfolded the note and read the words, instantly recognizing Stefan's handwriting.

**Are you alright?**

I picked up my pen and wrote my response:

_Yeah. I'm just beyond tired and I want to get out of this class._

I tossed the note back to him quickly and watched as he read it. He chuckled a little bit at the end of the note and looked over at me with a small smile. I smiled back at him just as the bell rang.

As the students stood up, eager to rush out of school, Alaric looked over at me silently telling me to stay. I took my time putting my books into my bag. Once everyone was out, including Stefan, I stood up and walked over to Alaric's desk.

"How are you feeling?" Alaric asked me as he leaned against his desk.

"Tired," I laughed a little.

"You know if I could I'd let you sleep for the period but I don't want the other students trying to get away with it," he admitted.

"Don't worry about it. I totally understand. I wasn't trying to sleep or anything. I was just putting my head down," I explained to him.

He gave me an understanding smile. "You have the doctor's appointment today right?"

I nodded my head.

"Is Stefan going with you?" he asked.

We both looked over to the door where we could see Stefan standing across the hall. I frowned as I realized he heard about the doctor's appointment. I looked over at Alaric and gave him a half smile.

He nodded his head. "I'll talk to you about it later. Jenna invited me over for dinner."

"Oh you mean Jenna invited you over to cook dinner?" I grinned.

"Yeah. That's pretty much it. I'll see you later, Elena."

"Bye, Mr. Saltzman," I chuckled.

I walked out of the classroom and over to Stefan.

"I didn't know you had a doctor's appointment today," he said as we walked down the hall to my locker.

"I was going to tell you after class. You eavesdropped, though," I told him.

He shrugged his shoulders and looked apologetic. "I don't mean to do it."

"Relax, Stefan. I'm not mad. I'm just teasing you," I smiled a little. We stopped at my locker and I unlocked it, then opened it. I took out some of books from my bag, only keeping the ones I needed for homework.

Stefan leaned against the locker next to mine and smiled at me. "Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.

I stopped what I was doing and frowned. I grabbed my jacket and closed the locker, making sure I locked it properly. I looked over at him and took his hand in mine. "I'm just going to go with Jenna today. It's nothing personal. Plus you probably would be really bored."

He moved closer to my hand and laced our fingers together. "I wouldn't be bored, but you want to go with Jenna. That's fine."

I smiled up at him a little bit before kissing him softly. He returned the kiss, but we were interrupted as my phone went off.

"That's probably Jenna," I said.

He nodded his head and kissed me one last time. "I'll call you later to see how it went."

We smiled at each other before I turned and walked out of the school. I saw Jenna sitting in her car and quickly walked over there.

When I got in the car we said hello to each other before she began to drive.

"How was school?" she asked.

"It was fine. I'm not throwing up anymore but I think that's because everyone is careful of what they choose for lunch around me."

"Did you tell Stefan where you were going?"

I nodded my head and said I did.

She looked over at me with worried eyes. "How did he take it?"

"He took it well. He understood that I wanted to go with you for the first visit."

She turned the corner and continued to drive. "You're very lucky that you have Stefan," she said. "Any other guy would have left."

I looked down at my lap, thinking of what she said. I was very lucky and I knew I was. "I know, Aunt Jenna," I said in a whisper.

The rest of the car ride was quiet. She asked no more questions and said nothing else. Neither did I.

We arrived at the doctor's office and walked in. As Jenna checked us in, I looked around the office. There were some women who looked like they were about to have their babies that very second. There were some women who looked tired. There were some women who looked aggravated. There were some women who looked sad. There were very few men in the room and that made me wonder where they were.

I took a seat and continued to look around. My eyes fell on a young couple. The girl looked to be around my age, maybe a little older. She was one of the people in the room who looked like she was ready to have the baby. Her eyes were red, telling me she had been crying. There was a guy sitting next to her who looked annoyed as he looked down at his phone. I looked back at the girl, but almost looked away when she looked back at me. She gave me an understanding smile as if she knew why I was there. I smiled back at her in an attempt to make her feel better.

Their names were called and I watched as the guy stood up, slipping his phone into his pocket. "Let's get this over with," he mumbled.

The girl had trouble standing up and I watched in disgust as the guy just left her. I stood up and walked over to her, holding her hand to help her stand.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

I smiled back at her and said, "You're welcome. Good luck in there."

I watched as the girl waddled her way down the hall and looked away when she disappeared into a room. I moved back over to my seat, thinking back to Stefan once more.

I really was lucky. Stefan could have left me, but he didn't. He also could have been beyond mad at me, but he wasn't. I was lucky that I wasn't in that girl's position, but that didn't stop me from feeling bad for her.

My name was called and Jenna and I stood up. The nurse led us to a room down the hall. When we stepped into the room, she held up a blue garment and asked me to change into it. I took it in my hands and slipped it on once Jenna turned around, then laid on the chair. I was starting to feel nervous and I looked over at Jenna.

She came over to me and sat down in the chair next to me. Jenna took my hand in hers and squeezed it, leaning up to kiss my forehead. "It'll be okay, Elena," she said.

I was about to say something but the door opened. A middle-aged woman stepped in. She had ginger hair that was pulled back into a messy bun. She looked friendly and that eased my nerves, but only a little bit.

"Elena Gilbert?" she asked.

"That's me," I said.

She smiled at me and held her hand out. "Hi Elena. I'm Doctor McCarthy."

I shook her hand and pulled it away as she looked down at my medical charts.

"From what I see here, everything looks good. We're just going to do a quick check up to see if everything is okay," she said. She took a seat and pulled on a set of gloves. "You've taken a home pregnancy test, right?"

"Yes. The result came out positive," I answered.

"Congratulations," she smiled.

I realized that was the first time someone had said that to me since I found out I was pregnant. Everyone else had automatically begun to yell. I shook away those thoughts and smiled at her a little bit before she began to check on everything. I laid my head back and closed my eyes, trying to relax. I squeezed Jenna's hand and she squeezed it back.

"Everything seems good," she said. She pulled off the gloves and wrote a few things down before looking back at me. "Have you been sick lately besides the morning sickness? Any severe diseases?"

"She's had none. Her Father was a doctor so she was always vaccinated when she had to be," Jenna answered for me.

"Oh your Father was a doctor?" she asked.

I nodded my head and cleared my throat, "Grayson Gilbert."

"Grayson!" Doctor McCarthy exclaimed. "You're his daughter Elena. Now it's all clicking together. Your Father was a great man."

"You knew him?" I asked curiously.

"I met him a couple of times. He helped with a couple of things when I first started out. He was such a nice man. I felt horrible when I heard he passed away," she explained. She changed the subject as she pulled the ultrasound monitor over to me. "Alright, Elena. Now we're going to check up on the baby. You've had the normal symptoms, right?"

"Yes," I said as she moved up the blue garment. She squeezed a little gel on my stomach and I laughed a little. It felt cold and it tickled my stomach. Jenna and Doctor McCarthy laughed a little.

We all looked at the screen and I waited patiently. Soon, there was a sound echoing through the room.

"What is that?" I asked quietly.

"That is your baby's heartbeat," she answered.

I gasped as I listened to it. It sounded normal.

"So she's definitely pregnant," Jenna whispered.

"Yes she is." She pulled the monitor away and cleared the gel off of my stomach. "Everything is perfect right now, Elena. The baby's heartbeat sounds great and you are perfectly healthy. This should be an easy pregnancy."

I wanted to laugh. She wasn't the one pregnant with a vampire's baby.

I looked over at my Aunt and saw that she was smiling as she looked at the sonogram. I looked back over at it. We couldn't see anything by what looked like a small peanut. I knew that it was my baby and for the first time since I found out I was pregnant, I felt excited.

"Your due date will be sometime in September, but we'll discuss that farther along in the pregnancy. Would you like a copy of the sonogram?" The doctor asked.

I nodded my head with a smile when Damon popped up into my mind. "Can I have two? One for the Father? He'll want to see it," I asked.

"Of course," she smiled back and said she would be right back. Once she left, I got dressed and sat on the chair waiting for her to come back.

"Do you want me take you to Stefan's after this?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah. I want to tell Damon and him that everything is fine."

"Alright. I'll drop you off but I want you back home tonight for dinner. Alaric is coming over," she said.

I nodded and promised her that I would be home. We both looked over to the door as Doctor McCarthy came back in. She handed me a folder and said, "The sonograms are in there there. I also printed out a list of prenatal vitamins that I want you to start taking. When you go outside you can schedule your next appointment, alright?"

I took the folder and thanked her. We said our goodbyes and together Jenna and I left the office after scheduling my next appointment. We were back in her car quickly and she drove me to the Boarding House.

"I'll see you later. Thank you for taking me to the doctor's," I looked over at her with a smile as she stopped the car in front of the house.

She gave me a small smile. "You know I'm here for you, Elena. You don't have to thank me."

I gave her a small hug before getting out of the car. I walked into the house excited to talk about how well the appointment went. The excitement faded away quickly. I heard shouting and things being broken from upstairs. I rushed up the stairs and towards Damon's room where the noise was coming from. I stopped in the doorway and gasped at what I had seen. Stefan had Damon pinned against the wall while Damon's hand was wrapped around Stefan's throat.

"What the hell is going on in here?" I shouted.


	12. Chapter 12

**Damon's P.O.V**

My head snapped over to the doorway when I heard Elena's voice. I let go of Stefan's neck and dropped my hand. Stefan didn't do the same.

"Stefan let him go," Elena demanded.

I looked back at my brother just as he let go of me. I fixed my shirt and walked past with him a blank face to sit on my bed.

"Elena," Stefan said, surprised to see her. "How was the doctor's?"

"Don't change the subject," she snapped.

"We were just talking. That's all," Stefan's cold eyes moved over to me. "Right, Damon?"

I rolled my eyes. It was as if Stefan thought lying would get him on Elena's good side. Clearly neither of us were on her good side, so why lie?

"Oh that's what you call talking? Trying to choke each other?"

"It's not like we could choke each other, Elena," I said. "We're vampires. It takes a lot more than choking to kill us."

"It doesn't matter if you're vampires or not," she shouted. She crossed her arms across her chest. "I want to know why you two were fighting and I want to know now."

"Just the usual brother stuff," Stefan mumbled under his breath. He moved over to her and touched her lightly on the arm. "Come on. Let's go to my room and we can talk about your doctor's appointment."

Elena looked over at him and said, "I'll be there in a minute."

I could tell Stefan didn't want to leave her alone with me, which made me want smirk, so I did smirk. He glared at me before leaving and I stood up. "What do you want, Elena?"

She opened up a folder and took a small piece of paper out. She walked over to me and handed it me. I looked down at it confused. "What is this?" I turned the picture around in circles. It was a black screen with numbers and letters. Besides that, I couldn't see anything else.

She laughed a little bit and moved next to me, our arms touching lightly. I tried not to let this affect me. She pointed her finger at a small little dot that I focused my eyes on. "That," she whispered, "is the baby."

"That's the baby?" I asked with a shocked voice. I squinted my eyes at the picture. "I've seen a lot of babies. That doesn't look like one."

"That's because it hasn't grown yet. It'll grow and soon we won't be looking at a picture of something that resembles a peanut."

I looked at it for a few moments before handing it back to her. She pushed my hand back towards me and wouldn't take the picture.

"Keep it. That's your copy. I have my own," she said.

I looked down at the picture again and back up to her. "Thanks," I said.

Elena smiled at me and I almost smiled back. She turned and left the room to go see Stefan.

I sat back down on the bed and looked down at the picture in my hand. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the tiny dot. It wasn't just a tiny dot though. "It's our baby," I whispered.

Looking at the picture made me wonder how the doctor's appointment went. I needed to know if the doctor noticed anything usual, because let's face it: this wasn't your average baby. I'm a vampire. Elena is a human. I grimaced as I thought of that Twilight movie where the baby was half vampire at birth and everything was messed up. I don't think I'd be able to handle something like that and neither would Elena. No one would be able to handle that.

I wanted a normal baby. I wanted Elena to have a normal baby and I know that's what she wanted too. We never did talk about it, but I could tell. We wanted this baby to be the healthiest baby ever and I know that if any little thing seemed out of sorts, it would probably be because of me. Just thinking of something happening to my baby because of what I was made me furious.

I sighed as I stood back up. I put the sonogram down on my nightstand and headed downstairs for a drink. I poured myself a glass of bourbon and moved over the window, staring outside at the rain.

A few minutes passed and Elena came downstairs. She didn't look happy, but I didn't ask any questions about why she looked like that.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Home," she said simply.

"It's pouring out. Do you need a ride?"

She looked upstairs and nodded her head at me.

"I'll go tell Stef-"

"No," she said quickly. "No. Can you give me a ride? Please?"

Something had happened between the two. I put my glass down and nodded. I grabbed my jacket and my car keys before rushing outside into the rain with her. We both got into the car and I drove away as soon as her seat belt was on.

"Why are you going home so early? Usually you stay," I asked as I drove.

"Alaric is coming over to cook dinner and Jenna wanted me home. I didn't plan on staying long, I just wanted to give you the sonogram."

Sonogram? What the hell was a sonogram? "What's that?"

"The sonogram is the picture I gave you."

So that's what it's called! I said that to her and she laughed a little bit. After that, it got quiet in the car for a while. She looked over at me as I drove and I could tell she wanted to ask me something. I continued to drive and keep quiet. I was going to wait until she was ready to ask me whatever it was.

"Damon, how do you feel about this? About the baby?" she finally asked. She asked in a hushed tone, as if she was afraid of what I might say.

"I feel a lot of things, Elena," I answered honestly.

"Like what?"

"Shocked. Nervous. Worried," I looked over at her. "Somewhat excited."

"Why are you nervous and worried?" she asked.

"Elena, this shouldn't have happened. I'm a vampire. What if something happens to the baby and you while you're pregnant? What happens if the baby isn't healthy? What if I turn out to be a shitty Father just like mine?" I asked in a loud voice. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I couldn't freak out on Elena. She didn't deserve that.

"Damon stop the car for a minute," she told me.

"Your Aunt will kill you if you're late," I said in a monotone voice.

"I don't care about that right now. Pull over and stop the car."

I did as she told me to. I leaned back in my chair and ran one hand through my hair, keeping the other on the steering wheel.

"The doctor said the baby is perfectly healthy," she whispered. "It's due in September which means it'll be a normal 9 month pregnancy. I'm healthy, I've always been healthy, so there will be no problems for me. She said it should be an easy pregnancy."

"Does she know the Dad's a vampire?" I mumbled under my breath.

"Damon I know you're expecting something to go wrong, but you have to look at the bright side of things."

"There is no bright side Elena. You're a pregnant teenager and the baby's Father is a vampire and an asshole."

I saw her smirk out of the corner of my eye.

"Well you can be a bit of an asshole," she laughed a little. She stopped laughing and reached over to touch my hand lightly that was resting on my leg. "But pushing that aside, I think that this baby will be healthy, that it'll have two parents who love them very much, and that you will be a great Father."

I looked over at her. She was smiling a little bit. All I could think of was how badly I wanted to kiss her. Elena had calmed me down within minutes, which is more than anyone I know could have ever done. With a simple touch of her hand a few words, I felt okay. I started to think that maybe everything would be okay. I moved my head over to hers slightly, not thinking straight. I snapped out of it when I saw her eyes drop to my lips and she moved back.

I cleared my throat and started to drive again. "We better get you to Jenna's before she beats us," I chuckled, trying to get rid of the tension.

The rest of the car ride, we said nothing. I pulled up to her house and she got out of the car, but turned to me at the last second. "Do you want to come inside and eat? I'm sure Alaric would like it."

I looked over at her for a while, not sure if that was a good idea. "Oh what the hell," I thought to myself as I shut the car off. I got out of the car and grinned at her. She continued to smile as she led us into her house and all I could think about was how she was glowing.

"Hey Elena," I called out to her before she stepped into her house. She turned to me, silently asking what it was I had to say. I grinned at her, "Pregnancy suits you. You look... you look beautiful."

She said nothing, which made me question if she had heard anything I said. I was about to tell her to forget what I had said when I saw a small smile pass across her face. Her cheeks turned red and she turned into the house while I chuckled, following her with a grin.

* * *

><p>Hooray for Delena moments! There will be much more. This is only the beginning. Leave a review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. :)<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

**Elena's P.O.V**

I woke up on Monday morning to get ready for school. I went through my usual routine. I moved into the bathroom with a shirt in hand ready to change. When I pulled my shirt over my head, I stopped once I caught my reflection in the mirror. My eyes drifted down to my stomach and I gasped when I saw the small bump. I had finally begun to show.

I pulled the long sleeved shirt over my head quickly. You could still see the baby bump and I instantly started to worry. What would happen if people began to notice it at school?

"Jenna!" I called out to her. I sound panicked and I knew she would run up her in a panic.

I was right. Not even a full minute later she had barged into my room shouting my name. "Elena! Elena what's wrong?" she asked quickly.

"I can't go to school like this," I said shaking my head.

"Go to school like what?"

I lifted up my shirt and her eyes widened when she saw the visible bump. "You're showing," Jenna gasped.

I pulled my shirt back down and moved my hair out of my eyes. I knew school was important and with all of the days that I had already missed, I couldn't miss anymore. I really didn't know what to do. I looked over at Jenna, asking her for her advice.

"We're going to have to have a talk with the principal," she decided. She rubbed her forehead with her eyes closed. "I'll give you a ride to school and take the day off."

"No. Jenna, don't worry about it. I can go to school," I said. I didn't want her to keep taking days off because of me. That wasn't fair to her.

Jenna gave me a reassuring smile. "It's alright. Just hurry up and get dressed."

She left my room as I sat down on the bed to pull my sneakers on. I pulled my jacket on before walking down the stairs.

"Are you ready?" Jenna asked me as she waited at the door.

I nodded, grabbed my bag off of the floor, and walked outside with her. Once I was in the car, I took my phone out and sent a text message telling Stefan I might not be in first period. He would have worried about me if I didn't and I didn't want him to worry. I got a message back from him almost instantly saying that he would talk to me about it later in the day.

Jenna pulled up to the school a few minutes later and I took a deep breath as I looked at the building. I had never felt this nervous to walk into school before. "What do you think the principal's going to say?" I asked.

I looked over at my Aunt to see her shrug her shoulders. "You'll probably be home schooled. If that's the case then maybe Ric can pull some strings and teach you," she said.

She sounded tired and the feeling of guilt came back to me. Jenna already had given up so much for me and here I was, pregnant, causing her to give up more and change a lot just for me. "I'm sorry, Jenna," I whispered.

Jenna looked over at me and rubbed my arm. She tried to smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "We've had this talk already, Elena. I don't hate you or anything like that," she said to me.

"I feel really bad."

"Mistakes happen. I've made plenty of mistakes and if I disowned you for this one, that'd be pretty messed up. We're family. We stick together and we stay strong. We're going to get out of this car, walk into that building with our heads held high, and hope for the best. Alright?"

I nodded my head slowly. I mouthed the words, "Thank you," to her before we both got out of the car. I did what she told me to do. I walked past my classmates as they rushed off to their homeroom classes with my head held high. While walking to the principal's office, I saw Caroline and Bonnie. I gave them a quick wave and they looked at me with confused eyes. I gave them a look that said I would explain it to the both of them later on in the day before walking into the principal's office.

"Hi I'm here to speak to the principal," Jenna said to the secretary, Mrs. Clarke.

Mrs. Clarke held up a finger, telling us to wait for a moment as she sent a quick message to the principal. We heard a beep come from the computer before she told us to head into the office.

Jenna opened the door and held it open for me, closing it once I was in the room.

The principal, Mr. Walters, looked up at me confused. "Aren't you supposed to be in class, Ms. Gilbert?"

I looked over at Jenna awkwardly.

"Hi, Mr. Walters. I'm Jenna Sommers, Elena's Aunt. I was wondering if we could speak with you for a moment," Jenna said quickly.

He looked concerned and asked us to take a seat. When we did, he asked, "What seems to be the problem?"

Jenna looked over at me and cleared her throat. I took that as a signal to start off the conversation. I hadn't even said anything when my face began to turn red and my heart began to race. "I'm pregnant," I mumbled.

The look on his face was on of shock and could be not mistaken for any other emotion. "Ms. Gilbert," he stuttered. "I really don't know what to say."

I looked down into my lap as Jenna continued to speak with him. "With the state she's in I think it'd be best for her to continue her schooling at home but it's all up to you as her principal."

"Well we both agree that here wouldn't be a place for your niece during her pregnancy," Mr. Walters said.

"It's not that I don't think this school would be a good place for her. School is very important to Elena. What I'm concerned about is what people may say about her. Pardon my language, Mr. Walters, but teenage girls can be bitches and teenage boys can be assholes. I don't want my niece subjected to that sort of treatment," Jenna said in a firm voice.

I bit my tongue to stop myself from laughing. Mr. Walters looked shocked that Jenna had spoken to him like that while she kept a calm appearance.

He shook away his shock and cleared his throat, sitting up in his desk to make himself seem more intimidating. "What do you suggest, Mrs. Sommers?"

"Homeschooling. It's the middle of March. Surely you could ask your faculty members to send lesson plans to her every week for her to work on. Maybe you could even have one of your teachers volunteer to teach her."

"And who would you suggest? Alaric Saltzman? You two are dating, is that correct?" Mr. Walters asked her as he stared at her with cold eyes.

Jenna had him stumped. She was tougher than him and wasn't afraid to stand up to him. He wasn't used to that.

"My relationship with Mr. Saltzman has nothing to do with Elena's education," Jenna stared him down. "Now will Elena be homeschooled or not?"

I looked between the two adults with my eyes. It was as if they were having a stare down contest. I knew Mr. Walters would never get over having his pride and his reputation hurt by my Aunt, but I also knew that Jenna wouldn't back down easily.

"Elena will be homeschooled. I will talk to her teachers immediately at the end of the day and her lesson plans will be sent over. Once a week I'll require Mr. Saltzman to visit her and give her quizzes and tests about her lessons made by her teachers. Will that suffice?" Mr. Walters said after a few minutes had passed.

Jenna grinned at him as she stood up. "That would be great. Thank you for your cooperation. I will be taking Elena home with me."

Mr. Walters said nothing else to either of us as we walked out of the office. We walked back to her car in silence. Once we sat down in her car, Jenna looked over at me.

"What?" I asked her.

"Your principal is a dick," she shouted.

I started to laugh and tilted my head back. She laughed with me as she drove away. We laughed the entire way home, talking about how she verbally kicked his ass and he had absolutely no comebacks.

When we were finally home and standing on the porch. I walked over to her and hugged her tightly. She hugged me back, asking me what the hug was for.

"For being a great Aunt and for having my back," I smiled at her.

Jenna smiled back and kissed my forehead. "Don't mention it, Elena," she said.

For the rest of the day we sat on the couch and watched TV. It had to be one of my favorite moments with her. I really did love my Aunt Jenna and I was so happy to have her in my life.

Around two thirty, the doorbell was rung. I stood up and moved over to the door. When I opened it, I saw Stefan standing outside with a small smile.

"Hey," I greeted him. I pulled him into the house and told Jenna that we would be upstairs in my room. Together we walked up the stairs and into my room. I closed the door behind us and moved over to sit next to him on my bed.

"Where were you today?" Stefan asked.

"I'm showing," I said.

He tilted his head. "You're what?"

I laughed a little at his confusion. "I'm showing, Stefan," I said it again. I stood up quickly to pull my shirt up. His eyes fell down to my stomach and focused on the small baby bump. After a few seconds I pulled my shirt back down and sat down again.

"So what does that mean?" he asked after a while.

"I went into school today briefly with Jenna and we talked to the principal. We came to the decision that it'd be better if I were homeschooled," I explained to him.

He slid his hand into mine and I smiled a little bit. "That means you're going to be out of school," Stefan realized.

"Yeah. It's just better that way. The baby bump is showing and soon it'll be obvious that I'm pregnant. Homeschooling is the better option for me."

Stefan nodded his head in agreement. I felt as if something was off, so I asked him if everything was okay.

"When is your next doctor's appointment?" he asked me.

"At the end of the week," I answered. I didn't even bother to ask why he wanted to know. I knew what was coming and wanted to lay down with a pillow over my head to save myself from the guilt.

"I want to go with you," Stefan said.

I sighed. I hated being right sometimes.

"Elena why won't you let me be there for you?"

"I am letting you be there for me, Stefan. What is so bad about wanting to go to the doctor's appointments with my Aunt?"

"Why can't we both go?"

"Because they only allow one person in the room," I lied easily.

"You don't want me there," he jumped to conclusions.

I put my hands on his chest lightly. "Stefan it's not that."

"Then what is it Elena? Is it because it's not my baby?" he frowned.

"No! No it's not that!" I said automatically.

He looked at me, his eyes narrowed and his forehead creased. "What is it Elena?"

I knew I should have been honest with him. I didn't know why I was about to run away from this problem. It would solve nothing when it was clear that things needed to be solved. "Stefan maybe we can talk about this some other time," I whispered. I faked a yawn and stretched my arms over my head. "I'm really tired."

He sighed and stood up from my bed. "I'll talk to you later. This conversation isn't over," he muttered.

I frowned as he bent down to kiss my forehead before he left the room. I heard him say goodbye to Jenna quickly then left the house. I let out a sigh of frustration before dropping to the bed, pulling my pillow closer to my chest. No matter what I did, whether I took Stefan or Damon, someone would get their feelings hurt. What the hell was I supposed to do in a situation like this?

* * *

><p>Uh oh...Stefan and Elena problems!<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

**Damon's P.O.V**

"Caroline would you just talk to her?"

My ears perked up as I heard my brother enter the house. I stayed in my room and decided to eavesdrop on the conversation.

I heard Blondie speak through the phone, "Stefan what do you want me to say to her? If Elena doesn't want you going to the appointments with her, there has to be a good reason. Just leave it at that."

I moved off of my bed and stood behind my door as I heard Stefan's footsteps getting closer.

"She won't tell me that reason though. I don't know what's wrong with her," Stefan said.

"Seriously? She's a teenager who's been through hell and back and who just found out she's pregnant with a vampire's baby. You're really going to ask what's wrong with her?"

I wanted to laugh at how easily my brother pissed Caroline off.

"Caroline I didn't mean it like that."

"I don't care how you meant it, Stefan!" she shouted. "Elena is my friend and she needs all the support she can get. As her boyfriend, you aren't supposed to question her about why she won't take you to her doctor's appointments. You're supposed to go with whatever she wants and make her happy, not argue with her over stupid stuff. I have things to get done so I'll talk to you later."

I heard Stefan slam his bedroom door shut. "So Elena and him had an argument…" I thought in my head. I had to know more about this argument. I didn't even bother picking up my car keys. Instead I walked out of the house and ran to Elena's house.

I pushed the front door open and called out to her. "Oh Elena!"

"I'm in the living room, Damon."

I moved into the living room and saw her laying down on the couch. She had blankets covering her and a large pillow that looked like a bunny. On the coffee table in front of her was a carton of ice cream, empty cellophane brownie wrappers, and about twenty different DVD's.

"Rough night?" I asked her.

"Try a rough day," she groaned.

I took my leather jacket off and hung it up before moving back to the couch. I picked her legs up, sat down, then dropped her legs in my lap while asking her, "What was so rough about it?"

"I couldn't stop throwing up. Every little thing made my stomach churn," she answered.

"That sounds lovely," I said sarcastically. "Where's everyone else?"

"Jenna and Jeremy went out to dinner with Alaric. I would have went with them but I'd rather lay here and watch Disney movies."

I looked over to the TV and saw a talking candlebra, a talking teapot, and a talking clock. I would be lying if I said I knew what she was watching. "What the hell are you watching?"

Elena gasped, "In all your years of living, you've never seen Beauty and the Beast?"

"I've had more important things to do then sit down and watch childish Disney movies," I snorted.

She kicked me in my stomach and I laughed at her attempt to hurt me.

"This isn't childish! People of all ages could watch it. It's one of the greatest Disney movies ever made," Elena shouted at me.

"Whatever you say, prego," I grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes. "Why are you even here, Damon?"

"I was just checking up on you."

A moment of silence passed between us. "You heard about my argument with Stefan didn't you?" Elena asked after a while.

"I eavesdropped earlier today on one of his phone calls," I shrugged. "I just wanted to see if you were okay and not completely pissed off."

She sighed and nestled her head into the weird bunny pillow she had. "It happened last night, so I'm not really pissed off about it. I just wish he'd at least try to be more understanding."

"What do you want him to be more understanding about?" I asked carefully.

"About my doctor's appointments. I understand that he wants to be there for me to support me, but going to my appointments with me isn't the only way he can support me."

"So tell him that."

"Don't you think I tried? Why do you think he got so pissed off?"

I chuckled. My brother could be so dumb sometimes.

"It isn't funny, Damon," she snapped.

I stopped chuckling instantly and cleared my throat. "Elena why don't you just take him to an appointment to shut him up? You know he isn't going to let it go."

"I'm not going to do that," she said automatically.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to hurt you."

Hold the fucking phone. My head snapped over to her and my eyes met hers. After a while, she looked away. "What did you mean by that, Elena?" I asked in a low voice.

She sat up and brushed her hair out of her face. I watched as she leaned over to the table and picked up the DVD remote, then paused the DVD. Elena leaned back into the couch and spoke in a quiet voice, "I don't think it's fair to take Stefan when it isn't his baby." She looked over at me briefly before looking away. "He's my boyfriend but I would feel bad."

I would have said that I didn't care if she took Stefan, but I didn't bother. Elena would have seen right through me so instead I just kept quiet.

"I was right, wasn't I?" she asked.

"I shouldn't stop you from taking your boyfriend to the appointment, Elena."

"But it's not his baby."

"He'll be more a Father than me," I frowned. It was true.

"Are we going to have this conversation again?" she asked. She moved over to me and I tried not to get distracted by the feelings that rushed through me as her legs brushed against mine.

"I told you that I think you'll be a great Dad, Damon," Elena whispered to me.

"That doesn't mean I will be."

"So you're telling me that because you think you aren't going to be a good Dad, that you aren't going to even try?"

"No. Of course I'll try, Elena," I looked at her seriously.

"And you'll succeed," Elena smiled at me. "You're going to be a great Father and the baby will love you."

"But you won't," I thought in my head. I shook away those thoughts quickly. It would do no good if I brought that subject up now.

"I want you to come with me to the doctor's appointment on Friday," she said.

"Are you sure? Saint Stefan might get his feelings hurt," I said with a slight hint of sarcasm as I spoke of my brother.

"He'll get over it. It's your baby. You deserve to go."

I thought for a moment before answering her. Did I want to go? Of course I did. I had tons of questions for the doctors and I wanted to see for myself that the baby was healthy. I wanted to go and be there for Elena. I wanted to see the baby on that little screen she had told me about it. I wanted to go.

"I'll go," I told her.

She smiled at me and said, "Good. Now watch the movie with me."

"Do I have to?" I whined.

"Yes," she grinned.

"Fine, you big meanie."

Elena laughed before laying back down on the couch. We said nothing else to each other as she continued to play the movie. We sat in a comfortable silence and I tried not to smile like an idiot as I thought about the upcoming doctor's appointment that I would now be going to.


	15. Chapter 15

**Elena's P.O.V**

"Are you sure taking Damon is a good idea?"

I groaned. It was the seventh time Jenna had asked me that since I woke up this morning. I looked over at her with my arms crossed across my chest. "He's the Father. Why wouldn't it be a good idea?"

"Because you know it's going to upset Stefan and you don't need the stress of a fight," she said.

"Stefan has to get over it," I sighed. I rested my hands on the counter and shook my head. "He has every right to be upset with me because I slept with his brother, but he has no right to be upset with me because I'm taking Damon to the doctor's with me."

Jenna moved to stand across from me, standing the same way I was. She looked up at me and began to speak again. "He may have no right but that won't stop him from getting mad."

"Can we stop talking about Stefan? I know he's going to be mad. We don't have to talk about it," I said. I slid my hands off of the counter and moved into the living room to think about the appointment. It was the monthly check up to make sure everything with the baby was fine. It was going to be rather boring and I chuckled as I thought back to the conversation I had with Damon before he left the previous night.

_Flashback_

"Are you sure you want to go tomorrow?" I asked as I held the door open for him.

He stepped past me and out onto the porch, turning back to me with that smirk. "Elena," he said," If you don't want me to go, just say it."

"I want you to go," I said bluntly. I cleared my throat and looked down. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. The doctor's just going to do a few small things."

I felt his hand under my chin and soon, I was looking into his blue eyes. He wasn't smirking, not even grinning, but smiling instead. "I want to go. What time is the appointment?"

"It's at 2."

"I'll be here at one then," he grinned. His lips were against my forehead quickly and soon he was wishing me a good night before he left.

_End Flashback_

I rested my head against the armrest of the couch and sighed. Part of me already felt guilty for not taking Stefan but I did my best to push that guilt away. I knew he would be mad and upset, but there was nothing I could do about it. As the Father, Damon had the right to go. He had the right to go and find out how his baby was doing. If Stefan wanted to be mad at me for doing the right thing, then I would let him do that.

Jenna broke me free from my thoughts as she sat next to me on the couch. "Is Damon excited?" she asked.

"As excited as he can get," I shrugged my shoulders. "He's Damon Salvatore. He shows no excitement."

"It's his baby. He better show excitement" Jenna muttered under her breath.

"He is excited for the baby. He just…," I paused to find a way to explain what I wanted to say about Damon. "He just shows it in his own ways."

The doorbell rang and I sat up. I moved over to the front door after swinging my jacket on. "I'll be back later, Jenna!" I called out to her.

"Let me know how it goes when you get home," she called back.

I opened the door and saw Damon standing there. I closed it behind me and looked up at him. "Hey," I greeted him.

"Hey prego," he said.

I rolled my eyes at his new nickname for me as we walked over to his car. He held the door open for me and I slid in. He shut the door behind me and flashed over to this side, climbing in quickly. He started the car and began to drive.

"How are you feeling?" Damon asked after a while.

"Much better," I answered. I looked over at him with a small smirk, "And how are you feeling? You look alright for someone who said they were going to tortures themselves with vervain after watching Beauty and the Beast."

"That movie was absolutely horrible and the only reason I didn't torture myself with vervain was because I was too tired to go into the basement and get some," Damon defended himself.

I laughed loudly. "Oh come on, Damon. Admit it. You liked a Disney movie."

"I did not like that movie," he muttered.

"Sure you didn't," I laughed again.

"I didn't. Stefan likes Disney movies. His favorite is Bambi, but everyone knows that," he smirked.

"Do me a favor, Damon," I looked over at him. "Let's not talk about him today."

"Why? Another fight?"

"No. We didn't get into another fight, but I know he's going to be mad because I'm taking you to the doctor's appointment, even though he has no right, and I just don't want to get myself worked up," I explained.

"Fine by me."

A moment of silence passed between us and I looked around before saying, "So…Beauty and the Beast…"

Damon sighed dramatically and began to list all of the things he didn't like about the movie as I sat back in my chair. I listened to him while I grinned, beyond amused. His list went on and on for the entire car ride and soon he was parking the car. I got out of the car laughing loudly as he continued with his list.

"Are you done yet?" I grinned at him.

"No. No I am not done yet but we have an appointment to get to so the list is being putting on hold," Damon said as he held the door open for me.

I giggled as I thought of what crazy reasons Damon could add to the list and walked over to the desk so I could check myself in. Once I did, I took a seat in the waiting room. I looked over, expecting to see Damon sitting next to me, but I didn't. I looked up and saw him standing with his hands in his pockets over by the door. He looked out of his element and totally awkward. "Damon," I called over to him in a low voice. He looked over at me and I waved my hand, telling him to sit next to me. He shook his head, but gave in when I gave him a stern look.

"I have never been in one of these before," Damon said in a low voice as he sat next to me.

"It's a doctor's office, not a prison," I rolled my eyes.

"Judging the way that old couple is looking at me, I think I would be better off in a prison."

I looked over at the other side of the room casually and frowned. The old couple was glaring at us. I said in a low voice to Damon, "How mature of them."

"If you want, I could fix this quickly."

"Damon!" I turned in my seat to glare at him.

"Ah, ah, ah!" He waved his finger at me. "You, Elena, are jumping to conclusions. I'm not going to eat them. I was just going to compel them to mind their own business."

"Well don't do that either," I snapped. "Read a magazine instead."

He leaned over and looked at the magazines on the table, his nose scrunching up as he read the titles. "Pregnancy & Newborn, Fit Pregnancy, Parenting…" He leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. "I'll pass on the magazines."

I chuckled just as my name was mentioned. I stood up and together, Damon and I followed the nurse into the room. Just like last time, she handed me the blue garment and then left the room.

"What do you do with that?" Damon asked as he sat in a chair.

I looked at him with narrowed eyes. "I have to wear it, Damon," I said.

"Oh. So wear it."

I gave him a look that said to close his eyes or at least leave the room.

"Come on, Elena. I've seen you naked before," he chuckled.

"Just turn around!"

He held his hands up in surrender and covered his eyes with one hand and even turned around to face the wall. I dressed quickly, leaving my pants on and pulling my shirt over my head to replace it with the blue garment, then laid on the chair just like last time. "You can look now," I said.

He turned back around and pulled his hand away, looking over at me. "Now that's a sexy look," he smirked.

I gave him the finger and he continued to laugh as he pulled the chair over to the table, sitting down in it. Just as he did so, Doctor McCarthy walked in.

"Hi Elena," she greeted me with a smile.

"Hi Doctor," I said back, feeling a little less nervous then last time.

"And who is this young man?" she asked, pointing to Damon.

I wanted to laugh when she said young man, but instead I introduced him politely. "This is Damon Salvatore."

"You must be the Father," Doctor McCarthy said.

"That would be me. It's nice to meet you, Doctor…" Damon trailed off, not knowing her name.

"McCarthy. Doctor McCarthy."

"It's nice to meet you, Doctor McCarthy," Damon said. He held out a hand and the two of them shook hands before she moved over to her table.

"Alright, Elena. How are we feeling lately?"

"I'm feeling pretty good. I'm still throwing up occasionally but the sickness is going away which I'm really happy about. I'm showing a little bit but not a whole lot," I answered her question.

She slipped on a pair of gloves and moved over to me. She pulled up the blue garment and I heard the smallest gasp come from Damon when he spotted the small bump. I smiled a little and felt my cheeks turn red. Doctor McCarthy placed her hands on my stomach, touching it gently. She moved her hands around, nodding her head slowly. "Everything feels fine. You are showing a little bit but that's expected for three months. Could you step off the table for a minute and move over to the scale? I need to record your weight."

I did as I was told and pulled the blue garment back over my stomach, then moved over to the scale. I stood up straight and still as she checked my weight. Once she did that I moved back over to the chair to lay back down.

"What are you doing now?" Damon asked as Doctor McCarthy pulled over the sonogram machine.

"We're just going to take a look at your baby and make sure the heartbeat is good. Last time Elena was here everything was perfect with the baby so there should be nothing wrong today as well," she explained. She lifted up the blue garment and squeezed the blue gel on my stomach and I laughed a little as she moved the small device over my stomach. We all looked over at the screen.

"Now at three months the baby is a bit bigger then last time but you won't be able to tell much," Doctor McCarthy said.

"We won't be able to find out if it's a boy or a girl?" Damon asked.

I shook my head and looked over at him, "Not for a while, Damon."

"Do you two know what you want yet?"

"Um…" I looked back at her, my eyebrows creasing together. I realized I hadn't put any thought into if I wanted a boy or a girl. My guess by Damon's silence is that he didn't either.

The doctor chuckled as she continued to move the device around, "Don't worry about. It's alright not to have any idea about if you want a boy or a girl."

I laughed a little and focused back on the screen. I expected to see a peanut sized image, just like last time, but I was taken back. I gasped as I saw its head, clear as day, along with its small body. It wasn't a full grown baby, but it was getting there.

"That's the baby?" I heard Damon ask in a quiet voice.

"That's the baby," I smiled. I looked over at him with the smile, but frowned when I didn't see him smile back.

Soon I heard the already familiar sound of the baby's heartbeat. It sounded fine, just like last time, and I felt relieved once again.

"That's the heartbeat," Doctor McCarthy said. She left the image of the baby on the screen for a little longer before pulling away and cleaning off my stomach. I pulled the blue garment down and sat back up on the chair.

"Everything is perfect, once again, Elena," she smiled as she took off her gloves. She looked over at Damon, "Your baby is very healthy and so is Elena."

"Now when you say healthy…" Damon muttered. "You mean there's nothing wrong, right? Nothing…out of the ordinary?"

Doctor McCarthy shook her head, "Absolutely not. The heartbeat is fine, your baby is growing at a normal rate, and Elena hasn't had any odd symptoms or anything to lead us to believe that something was wrong. I told Elena this last time and I'll tell you this now: it should be a very easy pregnancy. I'll be back with a copy of the sonogram."

"Thank you, Doctor McCarthy," I said softly. I picked up my shirt and was about to ask Damon to turn around again, when he turned without me having to ask. I took the blue garment off and replaced it with my shirt before sliding my jacket on. "You can look now, Damon."

He turned back around just as the doctor walked back in. She handing us the two copies of the sonogram and I took it with a small smile, sliding it into my bag. In silence, Damon and I left the room and I moved over to the desk to schedule my next appointment for next month. We moved out to the car after that, still saying nothing, and before I got into the car, I decided that silence had gotten to be enough. I closed the door instead of getting in the car and looked over at Damon. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," he lied.

"I know you're lying. Tell me what's wrong," I said softly. I took a step closer to him, hoping that he would be honest with me.

Damon looked over at the office before looking back at me. "It seems too perfect," he said.

"What does?"

"This entire thing. We have a healthy baby even though I'm a vampire. It shouldn't be like that."

"So what should it be like? Are you saying you expected the baby to be sick or something?" I frowned.

"No!" He shook his head. "I never expected that."

"Then what did you expect, Damon?" I interrogated him as I moved closer.

"Not a healthy baby but I guess it's my job to fuck this up," he muttered under his breath. He muttered it so low that I think he didn't hear me, but I heard him loud and clear. I grabbed his face in my hands and pulled it towards me.

"Stop it, Damon," I growled. "Stop saying that you're going to fuck things up because you won't. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

He didn't move from my grip and as I spoke, I saw his eyes soften. His guard was going down. "And how many times do I have to tell you that I'm a vampire, Elena?" he asked in a soft voice.

"That doesn't matter. You're a vampire, yes. Vampires aren't supposed to procreate, yes, but for some reason Damon…you were able to." I moved my hand up to his face to rest on his cheek and gave him a reassuring smile. "I don't know why you were chosen for that spell, but you were, and I believe that there is a good reason for that. I believe that you are going to be an amazing Father to the son or daughter we have and I believe that he or she is going to love you just like you will love them. Please believe me when I tell you that Damon."

Damon looked down at me for a few more moments, his guard completely done now. I wrapped my arms around his waist to give him a comforting hug and he returned it by wrapping his arms around my body carefully.

"It'll be okay, Damon," I whispered into his shirt.

I felt his head move and I could tell that he was nodding.

"I believe you, Elena," Damon whispered. "I believe you."


	16. Chapter 16

**Damon's P.O.V**

It had been a while since I spent time with Alaric, so I called him up and told him to meet me at the Grill for a couple of drinks.

"I have papers to grade, Damon," he said to me.

"The papers will be there tomorrow. Meet me or I'll stay at your place again."

That had gotten him out of the house quickly and now we were sitting side by side, drinking nice cold beers.

"How's Elena doing?" Alaric asked.

I took a sip from the beer bottle before placing it down on the bar. "She's doing alright, I guess. The vomiting stopped so she's relieved about that," I answered.

"The vomiting usually stops in the second trimester. That's what she's in. She's seventeen weeks along, right?"

"I think so. I don't count the weeks. I count the months. She's four months," I said.

Alaric chuckled randomly and I narrowed my eyes in confusion. I looked over at him with my elbow leaning on the bar while the bottle hung from my hands. "What's so funny, Ric?"

He shook his head, still chuckling. He leant his head back as he took a long sip from his bottle and put it down with a sigh. "Out of all of the things I imagined myself doing, sitting down at a bar drinking beers with you while talking about your baby."

I thought about if for a moment before I began to chuckle myself. It was a bit funny and I knew how he felt. Knowing that I was going to have a baby was still surprising to me.

"You know Jenna's starting to get excited about the baby," Alaric said. "She's already planning a baby shower."

"What the hell is a baby shower?" I asked.

"A baby shower is a party people throw for a pregnant woman. She basically gets pampered for a day and everyone gives her gifts for the baby."

"Sounds fun," I said sarcastically. "She wants to throw Elena one?"

"Yeah. It's all she can talk about," Alaric nodded his head. "It wouldn't be for a while though. It's only April and the baby isn't going to be born until September. She'll probably throw one in July."

"I'll talk to Jenna about that," I said. I already had plans for the baby shower in my head. Obviously it could be held at the Boarding House. All I would need to do is set things up with Jenna or Caroline, hoping that neither of them tried to kill me before then.

For the next couple of minutes, Alaric and I sat in silence while continuing to drink from our bottles. I could see Alaric looking over at me and soon he asked another question. "How are things between you and Stefan?"

I laughed loudly and finished off my beer, asking quickly for another one. "He hates me," I said.

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you, Damon."

"I'm sure he does," I shrugged my shoulders. Stefan could hate me if he wanted to and he had every right. I knew that and wouldn't say he didn't. "I haven't spoken to Stefan since I got back from Elena's appointment with the doctor. He wasn't happy with me."

"Why not?"

"He wasn't happy because I went to the appointment with her," I said before taking another sip from the bottle. "Ric, to be honest, I don't give a shit if he hates me or if he's mad. As long as he doesn't get mad at Elena over the appointment, I'm fine." I stood up from the bar stool, deciding that it was time to head back home. "I'm heading out. I'll talk to you later, Ric."

"Alright. Play nice with your brother," he grinned.

I gave him the finger before turning around and leaving the bar. I walked over to my car and got in, then started to drive. As I drove, I thought back to the argument Stefan and I had when I got back from the doctor's appointment. He said things like, "You shouldn't have gone," and, "Why didn't anyone tell me you were going?" I just rolled my eyes at him, saying that everyone didn't need to let him know what they were doing twenty-four seven, especially Elena or me. Mentioning that to him pissed him off even more and left him screaming at me while I just turned my back to him.

I pulled up to the house and parked my car in the garage. I stepped out and saw Stefan moving in and out of the house with heavy bags. "What the hell is he doing now?" I asked myself. I walked over to him while he put the bags in his car.

"Whatcha up to, little brother?" I asked.

"It's none of your business, Damon," he answered. He didn't look at me as he spoke and continued moving back and forth to put the bags away.

"Aw come on. You may be hiding something from me. I gotta watch out for you," I smirked. "So Stefan, what's in the bags?"

"Do you really want to know, Damon?"

I held my hands out by my side and gave him a bored look. "Am I standing here asking you about it?"

"Skip the sarcasm, asshole," Stefan rolled his eyes.

"That's impossible for me to do and you know that."

I watched as he opened up one of the bags and pulled a book out. He held it in his hand as he showed it to me so I could read the title. "The Mother of all Pregnancy Books," I read out loud. I moved over to look through the bags and saw more pregnancy books along with what I guess were maternity clothes. "What is all of this, Stefan?"

"Just a couple of things I picked up for my girlfriend," he said. I turned to him and saw him sliding his hands in his pockets while he looked at me with a small smirk. "I figured if Elena doesn't want me at the doctor's appointments, I could be there for her in other ways so I went out shopping for her."

I shook my head at him, "You really need to grow up, Stefan." I walked past him, brushing my shoulder against his aggressively.

"What's the matter, Damon? Mad that I thought of getting her the things she needs before you did?"

"Oh cut the crap, Stefan," I yelled at him. I turned back around to face him with a glare. "If you want to buy these things for Elena because you think that it'll make you more of a Father than me, go right ahead. Have a ball and don't let me get in your way."

Stefan rolled his eyes at me once more before getting into the car. He started it up and I walked over to the car, knocking on his window. "You didn't let me finish," I said as he rolled down his window.

"What, Damon?"

"You can buy her these things if it makes you feel better but remember this, Stefan. At the end of the day, I'll still be that baby's Father."

That was the killer line. Stefan glared at me and sped off without saying anything else. I shook my head and moved back into the house. I needed another drink.

* * *

><p>Things between Damon and Stefan are getting rough. Let me know what you thought of this chapter in a review!<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

Elena's P.O.V

I was sitting at the dining room table working on my assignments for school. As I flipped through the pages of my history textbook, I was able to think of a whole list of things I would rather be doing. Answering questions about the Declaration of Independence was not on the list. Eating Chinese food, however, was on the list. "Hey Jeremy!" I shouted out.

Moments later I heard his footsteps on the stairs and soon he was walking into the kitchen. "What's up?" he asked me.

"Aunt Jenna went out with Ric tonight so we need to take care of dinner," I said.

"I already ate."

"You did?" I frowned. "Well…that's alright. Do you have any money?" I crossed my fingers under the table silently hoping that he had money so I could order food for myself. When he shook his head and apologized before leaving the room, I let out a frustrated sigh and dropped my head to the table. "I just want Chinese food," I whined.

I pushed the chair out and walked over to the refrigerator. I opened it and saw nothing but leftovers that didn't appeal to me. There was nothing in the freezer but frozen vegetables and in the cabinets and pantry closet we had no snacks. We didn't even have Cheerios. I felt my stomach rumble and felt as if the baby was yelling at me to eat. I looked down at my stomach and said, "There is nothing good to eat. What am I supposed to do?" It rumbled again and I shook my head. "I don't know either, kid," I said.

I heard a knock on the door and went to answer it. I smiled when I saw Stefan and he smiled back.

"Hey," he said.

I moved to the side to let him in and kissed him quickly before closing the door behind him. I was about to ask him if he could get me Chinese food, the only thing that was appetizing to my body at the moment, but my mind went into another direction when I saw all the bags he was carrying. "What is all of this?"

He grinned and moved into the living room, putting the bags on the couch. He waved his hand at me, telling me to come over. I moved next to him and looked down at the bags. I was beyond curious.

"I went shopping this morning. I know that you've been telling me that there are other ways for me to be there for you during this whole thing and I realized that you were right," Stefan explained. "Go look in the bags."

I peeked into one bag and saw a pile of clothes. I pulled the articles of clothing out of the bag one by one. "Stefan these look to be a little too big for me," I said.

He chuckled a little and took the rest of the clothes out, placing them on the couch. "They're maternity clothes. You're growing and I figured you would need new things to wear."

As I looked down at the clothes, I thought of an appropriate way to react. Was I supposed to jump up and down, thanking him? If that was the case, I didn't feel like doing that. "Why am I not happy like I should be?" I thought to myself.

"I also picked up some books about pregnancy. You don't have to read them but if you ever got bored one day, you could pick one up and give it a look," he said. As he said this, he took out two handfuls of books.

I looked over at him, trying my best to smile. "Thank you, Stefan. That was…very nice of you," I thanked him.

Stefan smiled back at me and leant down to kiss me softly. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. His arms encircled my waist carefully and I wrapped my arms around his neck as the kiss continued. I felt Stefan's tongue prod my lips gently, almost begging for entrance, and that was when I pulled away. My stomach began to rumble as I did.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," Stefan chuckled.

"I'm starving," I whined. "Jenna is out and Jeremy already ate. There's also absolutely nothing to eat in this house."

"Aw come on, Elena." Stefan tugged on my hand and brought me back into the kitchen. I watched as he went through the refrigerator, pulling out everything I had looked at before. Once I said no to everything he showed me from the refrigerator, he moved onto the cabinets and pantry closet. Once again, I said no to everything.

He looked over at me confused. "You said you were hungry yet you just said no to everything I held out to you."

I sat at the table again, a frown etched onto my face. "I am hungry but I don't want any of that. I want Chinese food."

"I can't help you there, Elena. If I had money I would order you something but I don't have any on me right now," he frowned as he moved over to stand next to me.

I looked up at him with puppy dog eyes. "Can you get money and then get me Chinese food?"

"I um…" Stefan nervously ran a hand through his hair. "I was actually going to go hunt. I haven't gone in a while and I really need to."

"Oh," I said in a small voice.

"I'm sorry, Elena."

I brushed his apology off and cleared my throat. "It's fine. I'll make something later."

"No it's not fine. I feel bad," he said.

I tried to give him a reassuring smile, hiding the fact that I was upset because he wouldn't get me Chinese food. "It's fine. Go hunt and I'll see you tomorrow or something."

He went to kiss me but I moved my head at the last minute. His lips landed on my cheek and I heard him sigh. "Elena…"

"It's fine, Stefan."

Stefan kissed my cheek again and we said our goodbyes. I heard him shut the door behind him and sighed.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" I asked myself in a whisper. I closed my school books and pushed them away just as my stomach rumbled again. I groaned in frustration and stood up again when I decided to make myself a sandwich. There was another knock on the door and I groaned again. I stomped my way over to the door and pulled it open, practically growling, "What?"

Damon held his hands up in front of him. "Don't kill me. I just came to visit," he said.

I sighed. It was only Damon. I moved over so he could step in and slammed the door behind him.

"Someone's in a cranky mood," he muttered.

I looked at him with a tired expression. "I am cranky. I am beyond cranky, so don't make me even more cranky, Damon."

He chuckled and gave me a thumbs up, a silent way of telling me that he wouldn't piss me off. I watched as he looked into the living room and took notice of all the bags Stefan had left there. "I see my darling brother was here," he said.

"You knew he was buying me all of this?" I asked in shock.

"No," Damon shook his head quickly. "When I got home before he was packing all of this in his car. I had no idea he decided to go on a little shopping spree."

I stayed silent as he looked through the bags one by one. He was shaking his head before he took the bags off of the couch so he could sit down. I watched as he did so, wondering why he seemed annoyed by the bags. I pushed the thoughts away as I sat down next to him and threw my head back onto the couch, keeping my eyes shut. A moment of silence passed between us and I was glad that it wasn't an awkward one.

"So are you going to tell me why you are in a cranky mood, prego?"

"I just am," I said. I lifted my head and looked at him. "Jenna went out with your buddy Alaric, so it was up to me and Jeremy to get dinner. Jeremy already ate though so I'm the only one who hasn't eaten. There is so much food in this house but I don't want any of it because the little peanut and my stomach have their minds set on Chinese food, even though I can't get Chinese food. Then Stefan came over and dropped all of this stuff off, taking me by surprise, and I didn't know how to react to it and then I asked him if he could get me Chinese food but he said no because he had to go hunt so now I have no way of getting food and I'm just pissed!" I took a deep breath after my rant.

Damon looked at me for a moment before bursting into a fit of laughter. I glared at him, finding it hard to find this situation amusing. I hit him in the arm hard as I yelled at him, "It's not funny!"

He stopped laughing but kept the grin on his face. "I apologize for laughing," he said. It took him another few moments to get rid of his grin before he asked me, "What do you mean you didn't know to react to the stuff Stefan got you? Aren't you supposed to be happy that he gave you pregnancy books and maternity clothes? Those are what you need."

"I know. I'm supposed to be happy because I do need those books and those clothes, but I wasn't happy," I frowned. "I felt…kind of overwhelmed."

Damon tilted his head at me, asking me to explain why.

I pulled my legs up as much as I could and wrapped my arms around them, then rested my chin on top. "It was just a surprise. He didn't tell me that he was going to buy them and I got the feeling like he felt that he needed to buy me those things. I didn't feel like he bought them because he wanted to," I whispered. I looked over at him, biting my lower lip. "Does that make any sense?"

"It makes perfect sense," Damon whispered. He leaned forward and brushed a piece of hair out of my face. I smiled a little, but groaned as my stomach rumbled.

Damon chuckled and stood up.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"I'm going to get you and the peanut some food. From your little rant, I'm guessing you want Chinese food?" he asked with a grin.

I stared up at him, surprised that he was offering to get me food, before smiling again. I ignored his sarcasm to nod my head. "Get me pork fried rice and sweet and sour chicken. And wonton soup. Actually no. Get me friend wontons."

Damon chuckled again and nodded his head. He patted his pocket, probably checking to see if he had money. "I'll be back in a little bit." I watched as he turned and continued to watch him until he had closed the front door.

I shook myself out of the shocked state I had been in, but that didn't stop my mind from running into overdrive. I moved upstairs to put my schoolbooks away, trying to distract myself from the various thoughts of Damon that were running through my mind, but nothing worked. I changed into pajamas while I was upstairs. Damon had been a sweetheart since I had told him I was pregnant and it made me feel better about this entire thing.

I moved to lay down on my bed and held my teddy bear in my arms. I appreciated every little thing Damon had been doing for me since I told him I was pregnant, from holding my hair back as I threw up to sending me daily text messages in which he asked me how I was feeling and now he was getting me food. Part of me wanted to be surprised at how he was acting, but I knew I couldn't be surprised. This side of Damon was a side that I knew was there all along. My eyes closed as I smiled, thinking of the other day when we stood in the parking lot just hugging each other. Damon truly was always there for me. I felt myself drift off into sleep, wishing Damon was next to me.


	18. Chapter 18

Damon's P.O.V

I didn't take my sweet ass time getting Elena's food. I ordered her food when I arrived at the restaurant and got out of there quickly. I parked in front of Elena's house behind Jenna's car and walked back into the house.

"Elena?" I called out to her.

I saw Jenna poke her head out, confused to see me.

"What are you doing here?" Jenna asked me.

I held up the bag that had the yellow smiley face and the words 'thank you' written on it. "I brought Elena food."

"Why did you bring Elena food?"

"She wanted Chinese food and I offered to get it for her. Where is she?" I asked.

She pointed to the ceiling. "She's sleeping upstairs," she said.

I frowned as I looked down at the bag. What was I supposed to do with the food now that she was sleeping?

"Leave it in the fridge," Jenna told me. "She can heat it up and eat it tomorrow."

I nodded my head and did as she said. "I'll probably swing by tomorrow," I said to Jenna as a heads up.

She nodded her head at me and an awkward silence passed between us. "Well," I cleared my throat. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

I moved over to the door and moved to open it, but stopped when Jenna called my name. I turned to her.

"Thank you," she said.

"Thank you for what?" I asked in confusion.

She crossed her arms and moved over to me with a small smile. "For taking care of my niece. You aren't as bad as I thought you'd be throughout this pregnancy and whatever you're doing is keeping her happy."

I had nothing to say. I gave Jenna a small grin and shrugged my shoulders. "I'm just taking care of her and my kid. That's all."

I saw her open her mouth to say something else but I cut her off by saying goodnight and leaving the house quickly. I didn't need Jenna analyzing why I was doing the things I was doing for Elena. I headed back home and walked past Stefan who was writing in his journal. I didn't want to drink and I didn't want to argue. I just wanted to sleep and forget about what Jenna had said.

I stripped down to my boxers and shut the lights off before climbing into my bed. The last thing I saw before I fell asleep were the sonograms of the baby. I kept them on my bedside, finding that no matter how shitty my day had been, the sonograms never failed to put a small smile on my face.

I woke up late the next day. It was twelve thirty in the afternoon when I woke up and I moved fast. I showed before dressing in my usual attire-black shirt, jeans, boots, and my black leather jacket- before I stepped out of the Boarding House. I looked at my car, debating on whether I should drive to Elena's or just run. I decided running would be quicker. I was at Elena's house quickly and knocked on her door.

I waited briefly before the door opened and I grinned when I saw Elena.

"Damon I am so sorry about last night. I moved upstairs to change and-"

I cut her off, holding my hand up as I stepped in. "No need to apologize. You were probably exhausted."

"I guess I was," Elena shrugged her shoulders.

I remembered the food from last night and moved into the kitchen. I took out the plastic bag and set it down on the counter.

"What is that?" Elena asked.

"Your food from last night," I said. I looked up at her just in time to see her face light up. For a moment I found myself smiling back. She looked so happy just because of food and that's when I noticed how she really did glow.

"You saved it?"

"Yup," I said as I pulled the plastic containers out of the bag. I turned to get a plate for her and took my time plating everything. "I figured you would be hungry today and it would have been a waste to throw it all out." I looked down at the chicken and then back up at her. "Would you yell at me if I took a piece?"

She shook her head. "No you can have some," she said.

I took one piece after I heated up the food in the microwave. I grabbed her a fork and pushed everything to her as she sat at the table. "What do you want to drink?" I asked.

She moved to stand up, saying she could get it, but I told her to relax. I asked her once more what she wanted to drink. When she said she just wanted water, I got her a tall glass of cold water and set it down next to her. I pulled the chair next to her out and sat down.

She ate quietly for a few moments before looking up at me. "Thank you for getting me the food and saving it for me, Damon."

"You don't have to thank me," I shrugged off her apology.

"I don't but I want to so I am," Elena chuckled.

I rolled my eyes at her. "How's the food? Was it everything you ever wanted?"

"Yes. My stomach, the baby, and I are happy now."

I chuckled a little. I looked into the living room and frowned when I saw the bags still there. Elena had hit the nail right on the head when she said she felt as if Stefan was buying her things because he felt like he needed too. I felt the exact same way. In my eyes Stefan looked at this pregnancy as a competition between him and I. I rolled my eyes as I thought of how immature he was.

"What's wrong?"

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Elena ask me what was wrong. I gave her a weird look, pushing away my feelings of aggravation over the bags. "Nothing's wrong. Do you need more water, prego?"

"No I don't need water. There's something wrong," she said.

"Nothing is wrong, Elena," I rolled my eyes and pushed the chair out, standing up straight. I groaned and realized she wasn't going to stop asking me questions when she stood up.

"You're mad because Stefan bought me the books and the clothes, aren't you?"

"That is the last thing on my list of things to be mad about," I muttered to her. "He's your boyfriend. He can buy you things if he wants to."

"But he isn't the Father of the baby," she said.

"So what are you saying, Elena?" I looked down at her, my forehead creased in confusion. "Are you trying to say that you don't want him buying you things?"

"You're the one who doesn't want him buying me things. I could tell when you first saw the bags yesterday and I could tell today when you frowned before as you looked at them."

"No. He can buy you things. I may be the Father but that doesn't allow me to stop him from buying you things," I said. I stepped closer to her and brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "You're the one who doesn't feel comfortable."

She frowned and I tried not to pay attention to the way she moved her cheek into my hand as it rested on the side of her face. "I don't know why I don't feel comfortable," she whispered.

I sighed and noticed how tired she sounded. "What time did you get up this morning?" I asked her.

"Early. I was up at five thirty and I couldn't go back to sleep," she yawned.

I chuckled and picked her up. She gasped a little but I ignored that as I carried her up the stairs and into her room.

"What are you doing, Damon?" she asked.

"Putting you in bed. You need to take a nap," I said. I pulled back the covers and laid her down in bed.

"Thank you, Damon," Elena whispered as her eyes closed.

I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, smiling a little when she smiled. I waited until she was asleep before I left, having a strong feeling that her confusion wouldn't be over anytime soon.


	19. Chapter 19

Elena's P.O.V

At five months pregnant, I had a pregnant belly that was growing more and more as the days passed. My clothes were no longer fitting as well they used to and even the clothes Stefan bought didn't fit.

I was going to spend the day going shopping with Caroline and Bonnie. Shopping was the last thing I wanted to, but I knew I couldn't keep wearing the same pairs of sweatpants and shirts over and over.

I moved downstairs carefully when I got the text message from Caroline saying they were waiting outside.

"Where are you going?" Jenna asked.

"I'm going shopping with Caroline and Bonnie. I need maternity clothes," I explained.

She gave me a confused look. "Didn't Stefan buy you clothes last month?"

"None of them fit. They're too big. I'll probably be able to wear them in a couple of more months," I frowned. I picked up my jacket and threw it on.

"Oh. Alright. Well have fun. If you need anything give me a call," Jenna said.

"I will. I'll see you later, Jenna," I said. I opened the door and walked outside. I heard Caroline shout excitedly as I made my way over to the car.

"Look at you!" she shouted.

I laughed as she hugged me carefully and put one hand on my stomach.

"Hi baby!" Caroline said to the baby. She looked up at me with a grin, "How are you feeling, Momma?"

"Tired."

"We don't have to go today if you don't feel well," Bonnie said with a small frown.

I shook my head. "No it's alright. I have to go shopping. I have nothing to wear and it'll be nice to get out of the house."

"We are going to find you the cutest maternity clothes ever, none of those boring and ugly clothes I sometimes see people wear," Caroline said. She moved into the driver's seat while I sat next to her and Bonnie sat in the back. Caroline pulled away from our house, telling me that we were going to a store outside of Mystic Falls so we wouldn't have to worry about the "annoying, judgemental, bitches" in town.

"Does anyone even know I'm pregnant at school?" I asked curiously. It had been something that was on my mind. I didn't really go out and when I did not many people noticed.

"They have their rumors as always, but I take care of them," Caroline smirked.

"Caroline!" I shouted.

"Kidding, kidding! Gosh Elena," she giggled. "I haven't done anything to them but believe me when I hear any of them bring your name up, I want to do nothing but compel them. Bonnie disapproves though."

"Damn right I disapprove," Bonnie muttered from the back. "Some people don't care and then some people practically live to know if you really are pregnant. I think it's sort of pathetic that they're so bored, they feel as if gossiping about your life is the only thing they can do."

"I figured people would talk," I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't care."

"Good attitude," Caroline smiled.

"Let's get off topic about bitches at our school," Bonnie said. "Do you know the sex of the baby yet?"

"No. I'm actually going to the doctor's next week for another check up and while I'm there I'm going to ask," I said. I had read online that women at five months pregnant could find out the sex of the baby and I really hoped it was true.

"You have to let us know as soon as you find out what it is," Caroline demanded.

I laughed as I looked at my friend. "I promise I will let you know if I am having a boy or girl. I'm not going to keep it secret until I have it."

For the rest of the car ride we talked about Caroline's troubles with Matt. We tried offering her advice but when we realized she wasn't going to take it, we decided to just make light of the subject to cheer up. It worked and as we pulled into the parking lot of a store called Motherhood.

I got out of the car slowly and we walked over to the store, me holding my back the entire way as it started to hurt a little. I took the cart to lean on, relieving some of the pain and we slowly walked through the aisles.

I was talking to Bonnie about a shirt she had picked up when Caroline came rushing over to us.

"You have to buy this shirt!" Caroline shouted.

I shushed her as women around us looked over with frowns. "Indoor voice, Caroline," I said in a low voice.

"Sorry!" she whispered. "But look at this!"

She held out a white short sleeved shirt that had a scoop neck and a black belt wrapped around the middle, tied off in bow at the side. It was cute, I had to admit, and I chuckled at Caroline's excited expression. "Alright, alright. I'll get it," I said as I took it from her. I put it in the cart with the rest of the shirts I had bought before we continued to look.

We found a lot of shirts that we all liked and I decided that it was time to move on to pants. The jeans had an elastic band that allowed them to stretch and just like the shirts, we found a lot of pairs that we liked.

"All of these clothes are so cute," Bonnie said as she looked through the pants. "They may even be cuter than my clothes."

"I wouldn't go that farther, Bon," I said.

She laughed as she held up a pair of jeans to me. I shook my head, not liking the style of them, and she hung them back on the rack. "At least you'll be a cute pregnant woman," she smiled at me.

"She already is a cute pregnant woman, Bonnie," Caroline laughed.

I smiled at my friends as I picked out a few pairs of shorts. The summer was coming and I knew I wasn't going to be happy where jeans every day in the hot weather.

"Oh Elena," I heard Caroline say.

I didn't like the tone of her voice and turned around slowly. "No. Absolutely not," I said when I saw her holding up a thong.

"Oh come on! Don't get boring with your underwear!" Caroline whined in a whisper.

"I'm not getting those, Caroline," I shook my head.

"But Stefan will love them!"

I frowned at the mention of Stefan's name. "Stefan wouldn't see them even if I did buy them so put them back," I muttered."

She listened to what I said and put them back, but then came straight back over to me.

"Is everything okay with you and Stefan?" Bonnie asked.

"Everything's fine," I lied as I went through some more shorts. "I just don't plan on sleeping with Stefan."

"Because you're pregnant, right?"

"Yes," I lied again. That was one reason but not the only reason.

"We know you're lying, Elena. What's going on with you and Stefan? And what about you and Damon?" Caroline asked as she crossed her arms.

"Damon and I are fine," I said instantly. "We're perfectly fine."

"So you and Damon are fine, but you and Stefan aren't? That's…different," Bonnie frowned.

I felt my back start to hurt again and moved over to a bench that I could sit. Caroline and Bonnie followed me, eager to listen to what I had to say.

"I know you two expected Damon to be horrible throughout this entire thing but he's been the complete opposite and it's confusing the hell out of me," I shook my head. "He's taking care of me. He's taking good care of me."

Bonnie's eyes widened and her eyebrows rose in a typical Bonnie manner. She sat down next to me and asked in a confused voice, "What do you mean he's taking care of you?"

"He's over at the house all of the time checking up on me and then he ends up staying to hang out with me. He brings me food, he puts me to bed, he takes me to the doctor's appointments."

"And what about Stefan?" Caroline asked in a small voice.

I shook my head slowly. "He doesn't do any of that."

"Well do you offer to take him to the doctor's appointments? Do you invite him over?" Bonnie immediately jumped to his defense just go to go against Damon.

"I don't take Stefan to the doctor's appointments because he isn't the Father. I show him the sonograms, we talk about the baby whenever I see him, but I am not taking him. He'll throw it in Damon's face and Damon doesn't deserve that after all he's done for me," I said in a stern voice.

"It sounds like you and Stefan aren't fine at all, Elena," Caroline whispered.

I looked up at her with a sad expression on my face, feeling truly sad that we weren't doing fine. "He isn't there for me like I thought he would be. I feel…" I took a deep breath. "I feel as if he looks at this baby as something to win from Damon. I feel as if he thinks it's not his baby, but if he keeps buying me things like clothes that don't fit and books I'm not going to read because he thinks that's what he has to do, that the baby will become his. It's just another pawn in his fight against Damon."

"Oh, Elena," Caroline said. She saw the tears well in my eyes and sat on the other side of me, rubbing my back slowly. I did my best not to cry in public and looked down at the floor to hide the tears.

"What are you going to do?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know," I whispered. "I really don't know."


	20. Chapter 20

**Damon's P.O.V**

Elena and I were at the doctor's again. I wasn't even aware that she had another appointment until she called the previous night asking if I could bring her. I didn't hesitate and instantly said that I would take her, clearing my schedule of drinking and bothering Alaric.

I picked her up this morning, glancing at her new attire.

"New clothes?" I asked.

"Yup. My sweatpants and baggy t-shirts weren't cutting it anymore," Elena shrugged her shoulders as she climbed into the passenger seat of my car.

"Are those the ones Stefan bought you?" I made sure I said it a monotone voice so she couldn't analyze how I asked the question. I was surprised when I saw her shake her head out of the corner of my eye.

"The clothes he bought don't fit me. I went shopping with Caroline and Bonnie a few days ago and basically bought an entire wardrobe."

"Ah I see," I said. "And how are Barbie and Judgey the Teenage Witch doing? I haven't seen them in a while."

"They're doing fine. Stop calling them that," Elena frowned.

"Why? They are such accurate nicknames."

I looked over at her and chuckled as she continued to frown. I rose my eyebrows at her and smirked, "You know it's true."

She rolled her eyes at me and I chuckled, knowing I had won that miniature argument. We rode in silence to the doctor's office. When we parked, I rushed to her side of the door to help her out. We did the usual routine: walked in, checked in, and sat down until we were called. While waiting Elena usually read a magazine, pointing out small things to me or reading something that she found interesting. I would listen, genuinely interested, before I went back to making fun of the people around us in a whisper to Elena.

Elena's name would be called as usual and we would move to the room. She didn't even have to tell me to turn around as she put the blue garment on as a top.

"I still don't know why you make me turn around," I grinned when I turned back around to face her.

"You say that every time we come here, Damon."

"Because I'm still waiting for an answer."

Before she could respond the doctor came in. She did the usual check up, asking Elena questions about how she had been feeling and made small talk as she searched for the baby's image on the screen. Elena and I both smiled at the fact that we were able to see more as the baby grew bigger.

"If you look closely you can see the baby's spine right there," the doctor pointed it out to us. She moved her finger along the screen, pointing out the spine.

"And those are the baby's arms I'm guessing," I said. I looked closely at the image and nodded my head, convincing myself it was the baby's arms.

Doctor McCarthy nodded in confirmation.

"It kind of looks like it's sucking its thumb," Elena giggled.

The doctor chuckled before asking, "Would you two like to know the sex of the baby?"

After Doctor McCarthy asked us if we wanted to know the sex of the baby, my mind froze. "What the hell do I want this baby to be?" I thought to myself.

I thought for a moment to what would happen if Elena was having a boy. I would have a son. I frowned when I realized I had no idea how to be a good Father to a son. I thought back to the when I was a child. My Father never did what the other Father's did. He never played ball with me, never even taught my things. I wouldn't be anything like that. If it was a boy, I would make sure I taught him all that I knew. He would know all about cars, history, sports, and women when he got to that age. I would play football with him and actually take an interest in his life. I'll be damned if I turn out to be Giuseppe Salvatore.

Then my mind turned to the next question: what if it was a girl? Elena would be better with a girl. I grinned as I thought of a little girl who looked just like Elena running around. She'd be my little girl and I sure as hell wouldn't let anyone hurt her. She'd be sarcastic and funny just like me, but smart and beautiful just like her Mother.

"Damon," Elena snapped her fingers in front of my face and I snapped out of my thoughts.

"What's up?" I asked her, still in a bit of a daze.

"I asked if you wanted to know the sex of the baby," Doctor McCarthy said.

"Oh right," I looked over at Elena. "It's up to you."

She took a deep breath and nodded at the doctor. "Tell us please," she said.

The doctor smiled and moved the device over Elena's stomach a little bit then looked at the screen. "Congratulations. You'll be having a little girl," she smiled.

I looked over as Elena smiled widely. She listened to the doctor as she pointed out the baby's body parts as I tried to get my mind wrapped around the fact that I would be having a little baby girl. I smiled a little just thinking of it.

I guess I had been too engrossed in my thoughts once more. Elena snapped her fingers in my face again and I shook my head.

"What's up with you today? You keep zoning out," she said.

I shrugged my shoulders, not giving her a straight answer. She already had her shirt from before on and I helped her stand up.

"So a baby girl," she said as we moved throughout the office after getting the sonograms from the doctor.

"Are you excited?" I asked.

"Beyond," she smiled. "I always wanted a little girl. Obviously I'd be happy with a boy or girl because it's still my baby but you know what I mean. I'm babbling, just ignore me."

I chuckled. "You're not babbling. You're excited. Come on, prego. I'll take you to lunch."

She smiled when I brought up lunch just like she always did when food was brought up into conversation. "Thank God you brought up food. I'm starving and I'm craving a grilled cheese sandwich with pickles and cole slaw."

"Pickles and coleslaw?" I asked surprised. "That's a new craving."

"I know and it's so weird because I absolutely can't stand either of those things," she said as she sat back in the passenger's seat.

"Grilled cheese sandwich with pickles and cole slaw it is," I said. "I'll take you to that diner we passed on the way here."

She clapped her hands out of excitement and sat back in the chair looking down at the sonogram as I drove. Elena was quiet but I didn't question why. I figured she was deep in her thoughts and I didn't want to disturb her. She only looked up when I pulled up to the diner and practically almost jumped out of the car before I even parked.

"Whoa take it easy there, prego!" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so hungry," Elena whined.

I took her arm in mine and gently led her into the diner. "Table for two please," I said politely to the hostess. I followed her as she led Elena and I over to a table in the back.

I wasn't hungry and let Elena order whatever she wanted. She ended up ordering more than she had said she would in the car but I didn't mind. It was a celebration. We were going to have a healthy baby girl.

As we sat in yet another silence, I started to think of why I hadn't seen her around the house lately. I cleared my throat before asking her.

She looked uncomfortable for a moment before she sighed. "Things are different with Stefan and I, and I just…"

"You just what? You just don't like the hero hairdo? Neither do I."

"I don't feel the same way I used to for Stefan," she admitted, ignoring the joke I made.

Would I be lying if I said I didn't see that coming? Yes. I never expected it to hear her admit to me, though. I could see she was beating herself up over it and frowned.

"Everything has been different between us ever since we told him about the baby and I hate that difference. I understand he was mad. I cheated on him. I slept with you, his own brother, and he had every right to be mad at me," she said in a low voice. "But to buy things for me and buy things for the baby to try and win me over because he thought he lost me? To buy me things because he thought that's what he needed to do? I draw the line there. I don't need him to buy me books and clothes. I need him to be there for me and he isn't."

"I knew you were upset about the clothes," I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's not just the clothes, Damon. It's everything," Elena whispered.

I looked at her as her eyes began to water and reached over the table to hold her hand in mine. "What are you going to do?"

She hid her face as the waiter set the food down on the table and looked up at me when he left. I saw one tear slide down her face as she took a deep breath.

"I'm going to break up with Stefan."


	21. Chapter 21

**Elena's P.O.V**

I tapped my fingers against my leg nervously. Damon was driving me over to the Boarding House so I could talk to Stefan and end things that should have been ended months ago.

Breaking up with Stefan wouldn't be an easy thing to do. I knew that just by all of the trouble I had while making my decision. I had my mind telling me one thing, while my heart told me another. My mind told me to leave Stefan. My mind told me that it would be best for everyone involved if I just ended it; Stefan, Damon, myself, and the baby being everyone. My heart told me to stay with him. My heart told me that we still loved each other and because we still did, we would get over the rough patch we seemed to be stuck in. I asked myself often, "How much trouble would it cause in the end if I listened to my heart?" The answer to that was a lot.

I took a deep breath when I felt my heart start to beat faster. I felt slightly nauseous and made sure to keep my eyes closed as I focused on breathing.

"Try not to get yourself worked up," Damon advised me.

"I'm trying," I whispered to him.

"Maybe it won't be bad. Maybe he'll take it easy," he said.

I could tell that he was trying to make me feel better and keep a positive attitude, but we both knew the truth. Stefan wouldn't react well. That was the bottom line.

I was going to feel guilty and my heart was definitely going to hurt. It was going to scream at me to tell him that I didn't want to break up with him. It was going to tell me to hug him and never let go. I wouldn't break, though. I wouldn't listen to my heart. I would listen to my mind, the only part of me that was right.

"I have to do this," I said out loud. "It's what is best for everyone."

Damon gave me no answer, he didn't even make any expression, but I knew he agreed.

The Boarding House came into view and I knew from that point on, there was no turning back. Damon helped me get out of the car and walked me into the house slowly.

"Is he home?" I asked in a low voice.

Damon paused, looking up the stairs. He was trying to hear if Stefan was in his room. He nodded his head and before I could move onto the steps, he grabbed my wrist gently.

"What, Damon?" I looked over at him.

He gave me a small smile. "Come downstairs when you're ready. I'll take you home," he said.

I nodded my head before looking up the stairs. My heart continued to scream at me and I felt the sudden urge to turn back, but I didn't. I took another deep breath and walked up the stairs, holding onto the banister tightly. I brushed my hair out of my face as I walked down the hall to his room.

"Stefan?" I called out to him in a soft voice as I pushed the door open. I stepped inside and heard the shower running. I knew I would have to wait a little bit and that made the urge to run away even stronger. I continued to ignore it.

I had to sit so I sat down on his bed. That was when I noticed an open book on his bed. Thinking it was some sort of novel, I picked it up and read the cover of the book. "The Everything Father-To-Be Book: A Survival Guide for Men" was what the cover read. My stoic face turned into a frown, my eyebrows creased together. I pushed myself off of the bed and moved over to the desk, gasping when I saw many other books for expecting Fathers.

"Crib Notes for the First Year of Fatherhood: A Survival Guide for New Fathers, She's Having a Baby — and I'm Having a Breakdown: What Every Man Needs to Know — and Do — When the Woman He Loves Is Pregnant, Finding Time For Fatherhood," I read the titles of the books off one by one as I picked them up. There were many more, but I didn't even want to look at them.

"Hey beautiful."

I snapped my head over to the doorway where Stefan was standing. He was smiling at me, but I couldn't find it in me to smile back at him. I cut right to the chase and held up a book in my hand. "What is all of this?"

Stefan moved over to me and took the book from me. "I've been doing a little bit of light reading," he shrugged his shoulders. "I went shopping the other day when you were out with Caroline and Bonnie to buy more books for us and clothes for you."

"I appreciate the thought Stefan but I don't need clothes or books," I snapped. "Why are you buying all of these things?"

He looked at me, slightly confused. "Because I want to buy them."

"No. Tell me the real reason."

"That is the real reason," Stefan said. He put the book down and touched my arms lightly. "Elena what's wrong?"

I felt uncomfortable and pulled away from him, remembering to take deep breaths to calm myself down. "I'm going to be honest with you. I don't feel comfortable with you buying these things, Stefan. I don't feel comfortable with the books and the clothes. It's too much."

His eyes widened a little and he took a gulp. "I'm just trying to take care of you and our baby."

I felt myself fall over the edge. He had reached the point of no return with what he said. My hormones took control over what I was saying. "It's not your baby," I snapped again with cold eyes.

"It might as well be," Stefan muttered. He turned his back to me and shook his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it means, Elena?" Stefan turned back to me and I could see that his eyes were dark. He was angry and I knew that I should just end it and walk out, but I didn't. I needed to know what he had to say. I stood up straight and looked back at him, never once taking my eyes off of his. He spoke in a low voice, which I should have been afraid of. "If you think Damon is actually going to stick around because of this baby, you're sadly mistaken."

"Damon is not going anywhere," I said. I knew I was speaking the truth. "Damon has proved to me that he isn't. He's been taking care of me."

"And what the hell do you think I've been trying to do?" he shouted.

"You haven't been trying to take care of me!" I shouted back. As I shouted that, I felt my eyes tear up. "You've been buying me things I don't need and reading books on how to take care of a baby that isn't yours to take care of yourself, to make yourself feel better about this entire thing!"

"That is not true, Elena, and that's not fair. I'm sorry if I'm a little hurt that you slept with my own fucking brother," he glared.

"And you know I'm sorry that I slept with Damon but there is nothing any of us can do about that! And it is true! I have people to back me up on that!"

"Oh and is Damon one of them? Is that what you've been doing when I'm not around, Elena? Complaining about me to him and your friends?"

"Don't turn this out to make me be the bad guy," I growled. "Buying me things isn't trying to take care of me. If you were trying to take care of me, you'd be with me every single day helping me with school work. You'd be taking me out shopping, not shopping for me and buying clothes that don't even fit. You'd be going out and getting the food that I crave. I asked you to get me Chinese food once and you told me you couldn't because you had to hunt, when getting me food would have taken no more than thirty minutes. You'd be lying on the couch with me when I feel like shit just to watch a movie with me and make me feel better. Instead, you choose to show up every once in a while during the week and make Damon feel like shit."

Stefan stayed quiet and turned his back to me. By him doing that, I knew my words got to him. I looked down at the floor and sniffed. "In the beginning of this, you told me that you would be there for me, that you wouldn't leave my side. I thought we would make it because of how strong we were together, but I guess we weren't that strong," I whispered as a tear fell down my face.

"I'm sorry, Elena," Stefan whispered with his back still turned to me.

My shoulders started to shake as I cried more. "I'm sorry too, Stefan."

I didn't have to say it was over. We both knew it was. I didn't want to make it worse by saying those words. I walked past him and out of his room, leaving him behind. I took my time walking so I didn't tire myself out even more. I needed to go home and sleep after all that had just happened.

I made it down the stairs and saw Damon waiting for me. He gave me a small smile again, but I couldn't return it.

"Take me home, Damon," I said to him.

He nodded and we moved back outside then got into his car again. Damon said nothing, giving me the space I needed. As he drove, I continued to cry but I took deep breaths to calm myself down. The worst was over and all that was left to do was to remember how to breathe.

* * *

><p>There you go, Delena shippers. Stelena is over.<p>

I want to apologize for anyone who is a little upset or mad by the fact that Elena is having a girl. I know in a lot of stories, the baby is almost always a girl. I didn't make it a girl just to be like every other story. I decided to have Elena give birth to a girl because I thought long and hard about how Damon would act with a daughter. I think it would be adorable and it would bring out the sweet side of Damon that we all know and love. Once again, I apologize.

I will hopefully have the next chapter up soon. I hope you enjoyed this one. Keep up the reviews. I get a lot of great ones and I'm glad that so many of you enjoy this story. Thank you all so much!:)


	22. Chapter 22

**Damon's P.O.V**

"Can you do me a favor and tell Jenna what happened?"

It was the first thing Elena had said to me. I was surprised to hear her break the silence and looked over at her. I cleared my throat and spoke softly. "Why do you want me to tell her?"

"Because I'm going to bed as soon as I get home," she said.

Hearing that caused me to frown. If anything, she needed food. She needed someone to help her relax.

"What about telling her about the baby? I'm sure she'll be happy to hear it's a girl," I said as I turned the corner.

"You can tell her that too."

"Elena, she's your Aunt. She'll want to hear it from you."

"I don't care. I'm going to bed," Elena snapped.

"So that's how it was going to be," I thought in my head. Before when her and Stefan were talking, I tried my best not to listen into the conversation. I couldn't help it. It could have gone much worse but I know both Elena and Stefan were not in good positions. I was angry with my brother for acting the way he had been acting for the past couple of months, but he was still my little brother. I was worried about him going over the edge. I was worried about Elena. As I looked over at her, I could tell how much the break up took out of her. In the end she would be okay but as of right now, she wasn't. I was worried that she wouldn't eat and hurt herself and the baby. It wasn't a good situation. Now to top it all of, she was trying to push everyone away.

I pulled up to the front of her house. I got out of the car to help her out, but she was already out and moving pretty quickly up the pathway to her house. She pushed the front door open and I heard Jenna greet her almost instantly. I moved inside the house just in time to see Elena move up the stairs and into her room without saying one word to Jenna.

"What the hell did you do?" Jenna growled.

I rolled my eyes and closed the front door behind me. Holding my hands up in the air I said to her, "I did nothing." I moved past her and straight into the kitchen. I knew where Ric hid his bourbon and right now, I needed it. As I took a glass out, Jenna kept asking me questions.

"Then why the hell did she just storm upstairs upset without saying anything to me?"

As if Jenna's questions weren't enough, Jeremy came downstairs as well.

"Why is Elena upstairs crying?" he asked.

I turned to face him, my eyes going soft. I looked up the stairs and as I did, I heard her soft cries. I looked back down at Jenna who was impatiently waiting for me to explain and shook my head. I poured the bourbon into a glass and took a sip before turning back to them.

"I really don't want to be the one explaining this to you, but Elena told me to so here I am," I frowned.

"What is it?" Jeremy muttered.

"Is the baby okay?" Jenna asked nervously.

"The baby is fine," I sighed. "Elena broke up with Stefan."

Jenna gasped and Jeremy looked at me accusingly.

"What now, Jeremy?" I asked in a bored tone.

"What did you do to make her break up with Stefan?"

"Oh give me a break," I shouted. "Really? We're playing the blame game?"

Jenna shook her head and turned to look at Jeremy. "Jer, I don't think he had anything to do with that."

That was surprising, but then I realized she had probably noticed how things were between Elena and Stefan or that Elena had told her herself at some point.

"Anyway," I cleared my throat and gave Jeremy a warning look that told him not to make anymore dumbass accusations. "She broke up with him. Now she's all upset and so is Stefan. Again, I didn't want to be the one to tell you but Elena is stubborn and yelled at me in the car."

"Stefan took it bad?" Jenna looked back at me with worried eyes.

"He could've taken it worse," I shrugged my shoulders. I continued to hear Elena cry and was unable to push the sound out of my head. I didn't even finish my bourbon before pushing past Jenna and Jeremy.

"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked.

I didn't give him an answer and moved up the stairs quickly, my boots making loud noises as I stepped down on each step. Elena's door was closed and I moved over to it, knocking on it gently. "Elena, it's me," I said.

"Damon?" I heard her say.

"No. Santa Claus. Can I come in?"

I heard her move to get off her bed and sniff a couple of times. I didn't have to be face to face with her to know that she was making it look like she wasn't crying. It was a pointless attempt since I knew full well she was, but I'd let her get away with it.

She opened up the door and I looked at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. Her nose was red and her cheeks were damp. She moved to the side to let me in and closed the door behind us before climbing back into her bed and under the covers. Despite the fact that she had been crying, she looked so cute cuddling up the way she was under the covers and I couldn't help but smile.

"Did you tell them?" Elena asked in a whisper.

"I told them about what happened earlier," I continued to speak in the soft voice from before in the car. I sat down on the bed facing her.

"And about the baby?"

"No. Elena it's your family and I know you want to tell them," I said.

"Damon I told you to tell them!"

"Elena please calm down," I looked over at her. "Getting worked up and upset is the last thing you need. It's not good and you know that.

"How can I not get worked up? I just broke Stefan's heart and I feel like shit because he didn't deserve that! He didn't deserve any of this!" Elena cried. She rolled onto her side to face away from me as she started to cry and continued to yell. "I cheated on him after a small fight and then I ended up getting pregnant! After all he has done for me in the past, I cheated on him and I'm a horrible person for doing that!"

"Elena," I shushed her gently. I didn't think twice about lying down on my side and pulling her into my arms. Her back was pressed against my chest and I propped my head up with one arm to look down at her as I wiped away her tears. "You're not a horrible person."

"Yes I am," she sobbed. "Everyone either dies because of me or I end up hurting them somehow."

"Stefan will be fine eventually, though," I whispered to her.

"How do you know that? You weren't in that room. You didn't see his face. He was crushed and it was because of me!"

I rested my chin on top of her head, frowning. It seemed as if no matter what I said, nothing could comfort her. "You had to do it, Elena. It was for the best. You said so yourself in the car."

"I know, but it still sucks!" Elena sobbed.

I laughed a little and shook my head, swallowing. What I was about to say would hurt but I knew it was what she had to hear. "I know it sucks," I started off. "You loved Stefan and he loved you. I'm sorry that I came along and ruined your relationship in December. I shouldn't have gotten that drunk. I should've taken care of you, not slept with you. I'm sorry that it happened, Elena, and if I could go back and change it so you could be happy… I would."

Elena had stopped sobbing and listened to my words carefully. More tears continued to fall slowly but I wiped them away one by one as soon as I saw them.

"I was at fault in that just as much as you, Damon, and you didn't ruin our relationship," she whispered to me. I didn't know what to say to that, so I stayed quiet. She turned her head to look at me. "You're right. I had to do it. I had to break up with Stefan and it's sad that a pregnancy was what made me realize that my relationship with him was bad, but that's how it happened. I wouldn't change the way things have happened. I am happy and in a few days, I'll be even happier with this heavy weight lifted off of my shoulders. Just give me a few days and just…"

She paused and I moved so our heads were next to each other's. "Just what, Elena?" I asked in a whisper.

We looked into each other's eyes and I was happy to see that she had no more tears. Then, I was shocked. I felt her soft hand slide into mine to rest there.

"Just stay with me," Elena whispered to me.

I smiled a little and nodded my head. "I'll stay with you."

Elena smiled back before closing her eyes. As she fell asleep, I laid in bed and thought of all that was going on. Confusion was running through my mind as I thought of our relationship. Where did we go from here? What could we be considered now? What would happen? The biggest question on my mind as she moved into my arms while sleeping, holding onto me tightly, was, "How does she feel about me now?"


	23. Chapter 23

**Elena's P.O.V**

"Names!" Caroline shouted.

I looked up from one of the pregnancy books I had been reading at Caroline. Her and Bonnie had came over to spend the day with me. We were all in my room.

"Baby names!"

"You're having a little girl. You get to pick cute names," Bonnie smiled.

"Like Caroline," Caroline grinned.

"Caroline I love you but I'm not naming my baby after you," I chuckled.

"Fine. Don't give her the best name ever," the blonde vampire pouted.

"What do you want to name her?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know," Elena shrugged. "I haven't really thought about it because I still have some time left. It's May, so that's…"

"Supposedly four months. The baby could be early, the baby could be late, but you're due in September so four months," Caroline said. "It may seem like there's still a long time to go, but it's gonna go by fast."

"Yeah, look at how fast the time has gone by already," Bonnie agreed with Caroline.

I bit down on my lower lip as I processed what they thought. Time had been going by fast. I still felt as if I had just found out I was pregnant, but I didn't. I was five months long and things had changed since I found out. By things, I meant my relationship with Stefan. Just thinking of that caused me to frown.

"No," Caroline shook her head. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" I asked as I leaned back onto my pillows.

"Don't think of Stefan."

"I'm not thinking of Stefan," I denied it.

"Yes you are. You have the frown on where you think of what you did to Stefan and make yourself feel guilty," Bonnie said. "Don't."

"How could I not feel guilty?" I sat right back up and looked at them. "He was crushed and I just walked out on him. Not only that, but I cheated on him with his own brother."

"Elena you had to break up with him. You said to us when we went shopping he wasn't there for you," Caroline spoke in a soft voice.

"I could have just talked it out with him," I shook my head.

"No. No you couldn't have done that."

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," I said in a low voice. "Change the subject."

"Elena…"

"Change the subject!" I yelled.

I sighed when Caroline and Bonnie jumped. I had scared them a little. "I'm sorry," I whispered. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear as I shook my head, "I'm just…"

"Pregnant," Bonnie nodded her head. "We understand."

"I'm pregnant. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm bitchy. I'm emotional…" I trailed off, not wanting to say the last thing.

"You're what?"

"Nothing," I shook my head. "So baby names."

"Oh no, no, no, no. Do not change the subject, Elena Gilbert," Caroline grinned.

I looked over at her grin. "What?"

"You were going to say something else," she said.

"No I wasn't."

"Yes you were."

"No I wasn't.

"Yes you were."

"I'm hungry. Do you guys want anything?" I asked as I stood up.

Bonnie rushed over to the door and stood in front of it.

"Oh come on!" I shouted.

"You are not leaving this room until you tell us what you were going to say," Caroline continued to grin.

"But I'm hungry!" I whined.

"Elena, come on," Bonnie laughed.

"Fine! Do you know what else I am? Horny! The pregnancy hormones have me going crazy and can I do anything about it? No! And it doesn't help that all of these books say that orgasms are good for the baby and I and then the books say all of these other things! I don't even have anyone to make out with!" I shouted.

Caroline and Bonnie looked at me with blank faces. The blank faces didn't last and soon, they were laughing. Caroline laid back on my bed laughing hysterically while Bonnie leaned back on the door. I shot them both dirty looks and stomped my foot onto the ground.

"It's not funny!" I shouted at them.

"Aw Elena!" Caroline managed to say through her laughter. "You're sexually frustrated!"

"Yes I am so don't laugh!"

Bonnie moved over to me and wrapped her arms around me. She was still laughing and I began to feel somewhat embarrassed.

"It's okay," Bonnie laughed.

"No it's not," I pushed her away and then laid back on my bed. "I'm five months pregnant. No one wants me. Like I said before, I don't even have anyone to make out with."

Bonnie and Caroline stopped laughing. I looked over at Caroline as she sat up quickly.

"There is someone," she said.

"Who?" Bonnie and I asked simultaneously.

"Oh come on! You guys can't be that dumb," she rolled her eyes.

"Caroline just tell us who!" I said.

"Damon Salvatore, you idiots!"

I gasped while Bonnie yelled.

"No. Absolutely not," she shook her head. "She can not make out with Damon."

"Why not? Oh come on Bonnie, he's the Father of her baby," Caroline said.

"That's exactly why! Things would get complicated and Elena does not need that right now."

"How would things get complicated? Damon is crazy for her. I'm sure he'd be more than willing."

"Caroline are you serious? If she makes out with him, then what'll happen if Damon gets the wrong idea and takes off?"

"Guys, please just shut up!" I shouted. I put my hands over my face and rubbed it.

Their bickering instantly stopped. I kept my hands over my eyes as I whispered, "I think you guys should leave."

"Elena…"

"Just go," I said. "I don't feel good. I'm going to take a nap."

I felt Caroline slide off of my bed. Her and Bonnie kissed me on the forehead. Shortly after, I heard my bedroom door open and close, and then heard the front door do the same. I took my hand off of my face and sighed as I looked up at the ceiling. "Why would Caroline suggest making out with Damon?" I thought to myself. "And Damon crazy for me?" It wasn't the first time I heard that, but for some reason it still sounded so shocking to me. I didn't understand it. What I also didn't understand was why I was seriously considering on listening to Caroline.

* * *

><p>I'm sorry for this chapter being so short. It was more of a filler chapter, but it also leads up to better chapters. I promise. I'll update soon.<p> 


	24. Chapter 24

**Damon's P.O.V**

I was actually tired. As a vampire, I don't usually get tired. I could walk around for hours and hours as long as I had a bottle of bourbon in my hand. Sleep wasn't something I needed. As I sat at the bar in the Grill, staring at a full glass of bourbon, I realized that I was tired. My body couldn't handle staying up. It didn't crave the familiar taste of my favorite drink. There were two things that it craved and needed: sleep and Elena.

I pushed the glass away and rubbed my hands over my face. Thoughts of Elena and our relationship, if you could even call it that, ran through my head. I still had no idea what we were and it seemed like she didn't either. If neither of us knew, what the hell were we doing?

"Damon Salvatore pushing away a drink. I never thought I'd see the day," I heard someone say behind me. The voice belonged to Alaric, who joined me at the bar.

"Shut up or I may have to kill you…again," I taunted in my usual manner.

"Like I believe that threat anymore. Bottle of Yuengling, please," Alaric ordered a drink as he chuckled at my empty threat.

"Is there any particular reason you're sitting with me?" I asked in a bored voice.

"I was here to pick up some food but then I saw you sitting here looking incredibly glum."

"I'm not glum."

"Could've fooled me," he muttered. He took the bottle from the waitress and took a sip out of it. I watched as he put the bottle down onto the counter and then, he cleared his throat. "Talk to me, Damon."

"Since when are you so damn persistent on figuring out what's wrong with me?" I snapped. This was new for Alaric. Sure we were friends, but he never made it his job to find out what was wrong with me.

"Since the day you told me Elena, who is almost like a daughter to me in a weird way, is pregnant with your child. What's going on, Damon?"

"I'm tired," I muttered under my breath.

"Tired? Why the hell are you tired? Is everything okay with you and Elena?"

"Everything is just fine."

I looked out the corner of my eye at Alaric. He looked confused. I sighed when I realized I would have to explain more to him. "I don't know what's going on with us."

"Me and you? Well we're friends, unless you see me as more," he smirked.

"Oh don't be such a dick," I rolled my eyes at him.

He started to laugh and took another sip of his beer. "What's going on with you and Elena?" he asked after he calmed himself down.

"I just said I don't know," I groaned. I was beginning to feel more frustrated. I rested my elbows on the bar and slouched down. "She acts different around me."

"Different in a good way or a bad way?"

"I don't know that either," I shook my head slowly. "She could never stand being in the same room as me. I irritated her that much. She would never come to me. It's different now. I find myself spending most of my time with her."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that she's pregnant with your baby," Alaric said in a 'it's so obvious' tone.

"So you're saying that once she has this baby, once it's older, things will change?" I looked over at Alaric. "You're saying that she won't be asking me to take her everywhere, to get her food, to stay with her?"

I could see that all that I was saying was throwing Alaric off, leaving him with nothing to say. I pushed the bar stool out and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," I said shortly. I turned my back to him and left as he called my name. I got into my car and started to drive home. I drove slowly. I needed time to think.

I was tired because I had no idea what would become of Elena and I. I was one hundred percent sure of my feelings for her. I loved Elena Gilbert. I had come into this town looking to raise hell and had full intentions on doing that until I met her. When I did, everything changed. Everything was changing now and I could feel it.

"_Just stay with me." _

I never knew four small words could get to me like those had. She asked me to stay and I did. I laid there under the covers with her, with my arms wrapped around her, as she pressed her back against my chest and held onto my arms. I stayed like that until she woke up and asked me to get her food. Elena didn't frown when she woke up and didn't show any signs of discontent when she realized I was holding her. She smiled. Elena actually smiled when she saw me. That's what got to me.

Maybe it was only because she was pregnant with my child. Maybe what I had said to Alaric at the bar was right. As the baby grew older, maybe she would go back to the way she used to be around me.

I banged my hand against the steering wheel as I thought of how possible that situation could be. I didn't want things to go back to the way they were. I wanted them to get better, even better then they were now. I wanted to be the one to lay with her in bed, to get her food when she wanted it, to make her feel better when she felt like shit, to put a smile on her face whenever she was sad. I wanted to be the one to stay with her. Believe it or not, I've never asked for much in my life, so would asking to be able to stay with Elena be too much?

I pulled up to the Boarding House and planned on getting some much needed sleep. Those plans changed as I stepped into the house and saw suitcases lined up. I moved over to one of the boxes and peeked in. Clothes were neatly packed.

"Stefan!" I called out in a loud voice.

I heard his footsteps on the stairs and looked down the hall as he stepped off the bottom one.

"What is all of this?" I asked him.

"Those are my bags," Stefan said. He moved past me with another suitcase and dropped it next to the other ones.

"I know those are bags but why are they down here and what are you doing with them?"

"I'm leaving, Damon."

"Oh he's leaving…wait, what the fuck did he just say?" I thought in my head. "What do you mean you're leaving?" I asked. The question came out slightly nasty and I cleared my throat to tell him I didn't mean to make it sound like that.

"I can't be around you or Elena right now," he shook his head. Stefan didn't look up at me, not even once, and continued to organize his suitcases. "Maybe I'm being a baby for running away, but it's for the best."

"Stefan you're going to have to elaborate for me," I said. "You're leaving because you can't be around Elena and I?"

That got him to look at me. His shoulders moved up as he breathed in, then dropped as he exhaled. "I don't know how you can be so oblivious sometimes."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"It means that Elena is in love with you and you haven't realized it," Stefan cut right to the chase.

I couldn't say anything to him. I didn't believe what he said. Elena couldn't be in love with me. I was snapped out of my shocked trance when Stefan sighed and began to move his suitcases outside.

"What do you mean she's in love with me?" I rushed after him. I stepped in front of him and shook my head, "Elena's not."

"Yes she is, Damon. Please move. I need to put the suitcases in the car."

I moved to the side so he could do what he needed to do, but didn't stop asking him questions.

"What makes you think that she's in love with me?"

"Because she sure as hell isn't in love with me. She was, but that all changed once you really stepped into the picture," Stefan spoke to me. He put the suitcases in the back of the car and closed the door. He looked over to me and continued to speak, "You two are with each other all of the time."

"Because of the baby. That doesn't mean Elena loves me."

"The baby is just part of this. Listen, I don't know when she fell in love with you and for my sake, I don't want to know. All I know is that she did and the baby only made her feelings for you more intense. You and Elena need to open up your eyes to the truth," Stefan spoke in a soft voice.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked in a low voice.

"Because I'm not mad anymore, Damon."

I snorted. "Yeah right."

Stefan chuckled, "Okay, so maybe I am still mad a little bit, but I'll get over it."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to travel around. I won't be gone forever. I'll be back just in time for the baby."

I grinned a little when he mentioned the baby and surprisingly he grinned too.

"I wouldn't miss the birth of my niece for the entire world," Stefan said.

A moment of silence passed between us. Part of me wanted to tell him to just stay, but I knew I couldn't. I knew he needed to get out of Mystic Falls for a little bit. I wouldn't dream of stepping in the way of that.

He cleared his throat. "So I guess I'll see you in a couple of months."

I nodded my head and stayed quiet as he got into the car. He started it when I said his name. He looked up at me and I tried to smile at him. "Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will. Remember what I said, Damon," he said to me.

I swallowed as I thought of what he said about Elena and nodded my head.

"Goodbye, brother," was the last thing Stefan said before speeding away.

I watched as he drove, the car getting smaller and smaller the farther it got away. My mind was having difficulty registering everything. Stefan was leaving and wasn't all that mad at me anymore. That conversation had been civil for the most part. What had my mind running though was what Stefan had said and I found myself asking even more questions. Did Elena really love me?


	25. Chapter 25

**Elena's P.O.V**

I came to the conclusion that I had too much damn schoolwork. I sat on my bed surrounding by books, notebooks, and various pens that had run out of ink. I never thought so many pens in the house would be out of ink.

"Elena come watch TV with me," Jeremy said as he walked into my room.

I looked up at him. "Does it look like I can watch TV?"

As if he couldn't notice the mess I was sitting in, he said yes.

"Jeremy I have a lot of work too. It's Wednesday night and all of this schoolwork needs to be handed in with Alaric on Friday," I sighed.

"I'm sure your teachers will let it slide."

"I'm not taking the chance. This work is getting done." I looked back down at the work and saw that I still had a lot more to do. "Well, a majority of it will be done," I muttered.

"Suit yourself," Jeremy shrugged his shoulders. He left my room shortly after and I focused my attention back on the math I was working.

I wanted to go back downstairs and watch TV. I wanted to sleep even more than that, but this work needed to get done.

There was another knock on my door and I groaned. "What?" I shouted.

The door pushed open and I sighed when Damon stepped in.

"Cut me some slack. This time I knocked," he smirked.

"What do you want, Damon?" I asked in a tired voice. Was it too much to ask for a little time to myself so I could finish my work?

"To visit my favorite pregnant girl."

"I'm the only pregnant girl you know," I rolled my eyes.

"So you think," he raised an eyebrow at me as the corner of his lip tilted up. "What are all these books?"

"School books. I know you probably haven't seen one in quite some time," I teased him.

"Not true," Damon said as he picked one up. "I saw quite a few when I visited some colleges."

"By colleges do you mean actual colleges or college girls?"

"That's for me to know and for you to…" Damon paused dramatically. "Dot, dot, dot."

"Damon as much as I love joking around with you, I have things to do," I said sarcastically.

"You love joking around me with me? I'm touched, Elena," Damon grinned.

"You missed the sarcasm in that."

Damon continued to grin at me and started to move my books one by one. I glared at him as he did so.

"Damon, come on. I have a lot to get done. It's all due Friday," I said as he continued to move them.

"Well then it's a good thing tomorrow is Thursday!" he shouted. Once all books were moved off of my bed he told me to move over. I did so and he dropped down onto my bed, pulling my teddy bear onto his chest as always. "Stefan left," he said suddenly.

"What do you mean he left?" I turned to look at him with wide eyes.

"He left. I got home from the Grill yesterday and saw him packing up the car."

"Why did he leave? Where is he going?" I asked in a rushed tone.

"Take it easy, Speed Racer," Damon looked up at me. "I don't know where he's going. Stefan told me that he's leaving because he needs some space from us. He said he'll be back when the baby is born."

I sighed and closed my eyes. I allowed myself to fall onto my back next to Damon. "It's all my fault," I said in a low voice.

"No," Damon snapped. "Stefan needs some time to himself. Don't go around blaming yourself for that."

"Well what am I supposed to do, Damon?" I snapped back.

"You are supposed to relax and not stress yourself out," Damon said in a soft voice. I opened my eyes to look up at him. "Calm yourself down."

I closed my eyes again and took deep breaths slowly. While doing this, I rested my hands on my stomach. I felt something kick and my eyes shot open.

"What?" Damon asked. "What's wrong?"

I pressed my hand a little more into my stomach and gasped when I felt another kick. "Oh my God," I whispered.

"Elena, what is it?" Damon continued to ask me.

"Give me your hand," I said.

"What?" he looked at me with confused.

"Give me your hand!" I repeated myself. I took his hand and pressed it against my stomach.

"Elena what are you-"

He stopped half way through his sentence and I knew he felt the baby kick.

"What the fuck was that?" Damon pulled his hand away quickly.

"The baby!" I smiled. "She's kicking!"

I pressed my hand where Damon's had been seconds before and continued to smile as I felt more kicks. Damon's hand slid over mine and soon, he began to smile with me.

"That's crazy," he chuckled.

"She kicks a lot," I said. I looked over at Damon again. My smile continued to grow bigger as Damon moved his hand gently over my stomach. He looked back at me and our eyes connected instantly. As we held eye contact, my mind drifted to the conversation I had with Caroline and Bonnie. As I continued to think about that, I found myself moving closer to him. It may have been my imagination, but he was moving closer too.

Damon stopped moving when our lips were an inch away. My eyes had drifted shut when I noticed he wasn't going to move any farther. I pressed my lips against his bravely. The first touch was gentle, but something inside me snapped as our lips connected. Soon I was kissing him heatedly and he was returning the kiss eagerly. I ran my hands up the sides of his body, unable to stop touching him, and tangled my hands in his hair. This is is exactly what I needed.

I moved as close to him as I can be, deepening the kiss, and gasped when I felt him pull away. I opened my eyes to find him sitting on the edge of my bed with his back facing me.

"Damon…"

"Don't," he muttered.

"Don't what?" I asked.

"Don't say anything."

My eyes widened in confusion when I saw him stand up. "Where are you going?" I sat up and moved to the bottom of my bed.

"I can't," he shook his head.

"You can't what? Damon, talk to me."

He turned to face me. "What was that, Elena?" he asked in a low voice.

"It was a kiss, Damon," I said in a soft voice.

"Just a kiss?"

"Well yeah but-"

Just like he didn't get to finish his sentence from earlier on, I didn't get to finish mine. Damon pulled my bedroom door open and raced down the stairs. I heard him leave the house in a hurry, slamming the front door behind him. As the front door slammed, the reality of what I had done hit me.

"Oh God," I whispered to myself. I brought my fingers up to my swollen lips and touched them. I could still feel him. I shut my eyes tight as my eyes filled up with tears. I was crying.

I backed myself up to the headboard and leaned against it, holding a pillow tightly to my chest as I tried to breathe.

I saw Jenna look into my room from the top step of the staircase. She rushed into my room and sat down next to me on my bed.

"What happened, Elena?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I made a mistake," I cried. "I kissed Damon. I shouldn't have kissed Damon but I did and now he's mad at me."

"I don't think he's mad at you," she frowned.

"Yes he is!" I sobbed into her shirt.

"Elena you need to relax," Jenna continued to speak in hushed tones. "Take deep breaths and explain to me why you kissed Damon."

I did as she said before I began to explain the conversation with Caroline and Bonnie. "My pregnancy hormones are driving me insane and Caroline told me to kiss Damon. He was here and the conversation popped into my head, so I kissed him," I hiccupped. "I shouldn't have kissed him. Now everything between us is going to be weird. Why do I keep fucking things up with everyone?"

I laid on my bed and continued to cry. Jenna laid next to me and held me close to her as if I was a little girl. She stroked my hair and whispered comforting words to me, but I listened to none of it. All I could hear in my head were Damon's words before he left.

"_I can't."_

Those two words could mean so much. Would he leave to? Would he forget about the baby and I? Did I fuck things up so bad to change his mind about everything? As I thought more, I cried more. It didn't help that I could still feel his lips on mine. If anything, that made it worse. It was just a kiss. Why did he act like that? Why was I acting like this? I didn't know. I fell asleep crying in Jenna's arms that night while thinking to myself, "I fucked up."


	26. Chapter 26

**Damon's P.O.V**

One week.

It had been one week since I saw Elena.

It had been one week since I spoke to Elena.

It had been one week since I kissed Elena.

It had been one week since I threw myself into the plans of a baby shower for Elena.

Elena, Elena, Elena, Elena.

I could only imagine how pissed she had to be at me. I had been ignoring her phone calls. I deleted the text messages she sent me. Maybe I was being a dick, but I knew that I couldn't talk to her just yet.

You may be sitting there going, "Damon you are such an ass. Talk to Elena. Damon she is pregnant with your child. You have to talk to her. Stop ignoring her Damon." Maybe I shouldn't be ignoring her, but maybe Elena shouldn't have kissed me and fucked with my head.

I kicked my chair furiously and stood up, pouring myself another glass of bourbon. It had to have been my tenth one that day. I'll admit that I was avoiding Elena. I had to avoid her. I shook my head as I stood in front of the blazing fire in the fireplace, lifting the glass up to my lips to take a slow sip.

In my defense, I was avoiding her for two reasons and one of them was a good reason. I couldn't have her finding out anything about the baby shower. That had to be a complete and total surprise. Last week after I drank for a whole day, I called up Caroline and Bonnie. We then began to set up her baby shower that would take place in two days.

I didn't realize what I was getting myself into until I had to drive to Caroline's house and spend the entire day there under the watchful and judgey eyes of Bonnie Bennett.

**Flashback**

"She's having a girl so the decorations need to be pink," Caroline said excitedly.

"Pink isn't the only color for girls, Caroline. They decorations can be purple or maybe a nice shade of green," Bonnie said.

"No," Caroline shook her head. "Green is a color that people use when they have no idea what they are having. We know for a fact that Elena is having a girl, so we're using pink."

"Pink is such a stereotype color, though!" Bonnie argued.

This is what women argued over. I rolled my eyes and stepped into the conversation by saying, "Pink and purple decorations. You both win. What are we doing for food?"

"The Grill can cater," the witch suggested.

"I am not having them cater a baby shower for Elena and my baby. That's like going to a dinner for a wedding," I spat.

"So what other suggest do you have, Damon?" Bonnie glared at me.

"I'll cook," I shrugged my shoulders.

"You cook?" Caroline laughed.

"I'm Italian. What do you think?

"Okay fine. You can cook the food. Make Elena's favorites but make sure it's everything she can eat. I'll get the cake from the bakery. Bonnie how has the registry been going?"

"It's been good," Bonnie said as she looked at the registry on her laptop. "All of the necessary stuff like bottles, clothes, a car seat, etcetera have been purchased except for a crib."

"I've got the crib," I said. "Both of them actually."

"You're getting her two cribs?" Bonnie asked.

"She needs one for her house and one for mine."

"Aw you're giving the baby a room at the Boarding House?" Caroline asked.

"No I'm going to make her sleep in a closet. Of course she's getting her own room there," I rolled my eyes. Caroline could be so blonde sometimes.

"There's no need for sarcasm, Damon," she narrowed her eyes at me. "All of the important stuff is planned. This is going to be the best baby shower ever."

**End flashback**

I finished my glass just as Caroline stepped into the house, her arms filled with bags.

"You reek of alcohol," she frowned.

"What do you want, blondie?" I asked. I turned and poured myself another glass of bourbon.

"I have the decorations," Caroline gestured to the bags as she put them on the couch.

I moved over to them and pulled one open to look inside. "What did you get?"

"Just the usual decorations. I have pink and purple balloons that we could hang around. There are a couple of 'It's a girl' banners. Oh I bought these really cute things that are like confetti and they're in the shape of baby things like bottles and stuff. They were too cute. We can just sprinkle them places. Oh! And I also bought her a cute pin that says '#1 Mommy' and I bought you a pin too!"

I watched with a bit of fear as Caroline dug through the bags.

"Where the hell did that idiot put them?" I heard her mutter as she continued to look. "Found it!"

Caroline stood up straight and held out a tiny pin. It was gold and said '#1 Dad'. I couldn't help but grin.

"I knew you'd like it!" Caroline shouted.

"Do I have to wear this?" I cleared my throat, putting my bored face back on.

"Yes. You are going to wear yours and Elena is going to wear hers. I'm saying you have to."

"And since when do I have to listen to you?"

"Since I am helping you with this amazing baby shower for Elena and my goddaughter," she grinned.

"Your goddaughter!" I laughed loudly. "What makes you think she'll be your goddaughter?"

"Because you and Elena can't think of anyone better than me. You know I'll be an excellent godmother to the baby."

I rolled my eyes and nodded at her just to get her to shut up.

"I'm picking up the cake early on Saturday morning before coming here to help you set everything up. Bonnie will be with me." Caroline continued to speak.

"What kind of cake did you get again?"

"Oh it's the cutest cake ever. It's two tiers, one is vanilla cake with chocolate mousse filling and the other is chocolate cake with strawberry filling. The tiers are pink and purple and the one on top says 'Baby Salvatore' while the bottom one has this cute pattern and there are little baby things all around it."

I turned around as she went into more detail about the cake so she couldn't see my smile. Baby Salvatore. I liked that.

"When are you going to start cooking?" she asked.

"Not until the day of. I'm getting up early. Relax, blondie. There will be enough food and it'll be good," I took a sip from my glass as a thought crossed my head. "Hey…you never got in touch with Stefan, did you?"

I watched as she shook her head. "He didn't answer my calls," Caroline said in an apologetic tone.

"I figured he wouldn't. Oh well. It was worth a shot," I shrugged my shoulders and finished the drink before pouring myself another glass.

"Maybe he'll show up?"

"I doubt it. Thanks for dropping off the stuff. I'll put it to the side," I brushed her off.

"Damon…" Caroline frowned.

"Caroline, as much as I enjoy your company, I would like to drink in peace," I said in a cold tone.

"Or what? You're going to walk out on me like you walked out on Elena?"

I froze.

"Yeah. I know about the kiss, Damon. I was the one who told her to kiss you."

"Why would you tell her that?" I asked in a low voice.

"Because Elena is sexually frustrated. She needed someone to make out with and well, you're the best option," Caroline began to stutter like she always did when she got nervous.

"So she only kissed me because she needed someone to make out with?" I growled.

"I don't know," Caroline sighed. "Maybe. Maybe it was more than that. I don't know, Damon."

"Just leave, Caroline."

"Damon come on-"

"Leave!" I shouted at her.

She glared at me and shook her head, "You know what? Don't stand there and yell at me. Okay, maybe it was wrong of me to tell Elena to make out with you, but by acting the way you are acting right now has proven my every theory about you to be correct."

"Oh really? And what theories do you have about me? Please enlighten me," I glared back at her.

"You love Elena and don't you dare try to deny that."

"I'm not going to deny anything but I'm also not going to say you're right. Leave, Caroline," I turned my head away from her.

She left without a word and soon I was left alone with my thoughts. Caroline thought I had been the one to prove her right, but she was the one who proved that I was right. That kiss meant nothing to Elena. I was just convenient at the time. I finished the drink in my hand before pouring another, and finished that one quickly as well. I shook my head, feeling myself grow angrier as the seconds ticked by. That kiss meant the world to me while it meant nothing to her. Stefan was wrong. Elena didn't love me. Just my fucking luck.


	27. Chapter 27

**Elena's P.O.V**

I didn't know why I was sitting in Caroline's car. She told me we were going shopping, but I didn't believe her.

"Caroline where are we going?" I sighed.

"I told you, Elena. We're going shopping," she repeated herself.

"If we're going shopping then why are we headed towards the Boarding House?" I asked. I smirked at her when I noticed I caught her off guard with my question. "You thought I wouldn't realize that, huh?"

"We're going to the Boarding House because we have to make sure we don't buy anything that Damon already has for the room."

I rolled my eyes and sat back in my seat. I pouted as I crossed my arms across my chest. I wasn't in the mood for shopping. I wasn't in the mood for anything. It was July and I couldn't deal with the hot weather. It had to have been the hottest summer Mystic Falls had ever seen and my body didn't agree with the heat. On top of constantly sweating, I felt fat. On top of all of that, I was basically emotionally unstable. That was the worst.

"Elena please try to smile," Caroline spoke from the driver's seat. "What happened to happy pregnant Elena?"

"Happy pregnant Elena is sick of this heat," I grumbled.

"Is that all she's sick of?"

I knew what she was up to and just like all the other days, I wasn't falling for it. "I'm not going to talk about Damon, Caroline."

"Why not? He's the Father of your baby and you two haven't spoken in weeks. It's clearly making you upset and I can tell you right now that Damon isn't exactly happy about it either."

"He was the one who left the room!"

"Maybe you should have chased after him!"

"Oh because I would have caught up to him with this big thing in my way, right?" I narrowed my eyes at her.

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes. "Damon would have stopped for you and you know it."

"I'm ending this conversation," I snapped when I saw the Boarding House come into view.

She stopped the car and looked over at me in an apologetic way. "Smile," Caroline practically begged.

I sighed and gave her a half smile before pushing the car door open. I held onto the door as I pushed myself out, then stretched as I stood up. I slung my bag over my shoulders and waddled over to the door. "We're just going to check on the things and leave," I said to Caroline.

Caroline smiled and pushed the door open. She walked in faster than I did, but I was used to people being able to walk faster than me. It was hard to walk at a normal pace at seven months pregnant. I turned to close the door and jumped back around when I heard a loud group of people yell, "Surprise!"

I gasped as I looked at the people gathered in the living room. There were decorations everywhere, giving the Boarding House a new look I never thought I would see. I put my hands over my mouth as my eyes filled with tears when I noticed who was in the group. Jenna stood in between Alaric and Jeremy. Caroline stood next to Bonnie. Standing behind them were Tyler and Matt. I was surprised to see them. Standing to the side, with a grin on his face, was Damon.

"You guys threw me a baby shower!" I shouted when I pulled my hands away.

"Of course we did!" Caroline giggled.

Jenna rushed over to me and took my arm gently as she led me closer to the group. "You can't have a baby without a baby shower," Jenna smiled.

"Here, Jenna. Sit her down in the chair," Damon said.

I looked over at him and our eyes connected. I felt myself begin to blush as Jenna led me to the chair and sat me down.

"Do you need anything?" Damon asked me.

"Um… a glass of water for now," I cleared my throat. I watched as he walked away, not able to understand why he was acting so…normal. We hadn't talked in weeks. We basically avoided each other. Were we really going to act as if nothing happened?

"How are you feeling, Elena?"

I looked up and gave Matt a small smile. "I'm doing pretty good. I feel like a whale, but that's normal."

"You look nothing like a whale," he grinned. "You look great."

"Thank you," I continued to smile. I leant back into the chair and rested one hand on my stomach, fanning myself with the other. "Is it just me or is it really hot in here?"

"It's just you," Tyler chuckled.

"Oh joy," I groaned.

"The water will cool you down," Damon said as he stepped back into the room. He was carrying a tall glass of water that made me feel cool just by looking at it. I held my hand out and took a long sip when he handed it to me.

"Two more months and then the baby will be out," Caroline said.

"And then you'll be stuck waking up in the middle of the night when it cries," Jeremy added.

I laughed when Jenna hit him in the side and sat up a little bit in the chair.

"Whoa," Damon rushed over to me, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him in confusion as he said, "Take it easy there, preggo."

Alaric cleared his throat as the room went silent suddenly. "How about those presents?"

"Oh the presents!" Bonnie jumped up. She rushed out of the room with Caroline, Jenna, and Damon while I watched them leave with curiosity. I heard the sound of something being pushed across the floor, which only made me more curious.

"What the hell are they doing?" I asked.

"Getting the gifts," Alaric chuckled.

"What the hell did you guys get me? An elephant?"

As I said that, what they had been pushing came into view. I gasped and shouted, "Oh my gosh!"

Damon and Caroline had pushed a beautiful crib into the room, filled to the brim with gifts. While they pushed that, Jenna and Bonnie held even more gifts in their arms. The crib was made of solid wood from what I could tell, finished with a dark cherry color. There was a butterfly themed bedding, perfect for any little girl.

"Do you like it?" Damon asked as he dropped the gifts gently next to me.

"I love it!"

"Good because there's two of those," he grinned.

"Damon was nice enough to buy two cribs, one for here and one for back home," Jenna smiled as she placed her pile of gifts next to Damon's.

I looked at the growing pile of gifts and felt overwhelmed. I opened the gifts one by one, my smile growing bigger and bigger as I did. My family and friends got me a variety of clothes, diapers, bottles, bibs, baby toys, and so much more. I had been given everything I could need and more for the little baby I would be giving birth to.

All of the gifts had been open an hour later. I still sat in the chair as I ate a plate of my newest craving, chicken parmesan. I was surprised to hear that Damon had cooked all of the food, but not surprised when I discovered that it tasted amazing. As I ate, I sat down with Jenna and talked about baby names.

"What about Sophia? I think that's a cute name," Jenna suggested.

I scrunched my nose up. "I'm not naming my baby Sophia. Sophia Gilbert-Salvatore. It just doesn't work."

"You're keeping both your last names?" Jenna asked.

I paused when I realized I had never discussed that with Damon. I looked over at him and even though he was talking to the guys, I knew he was listening in. I looked back over at Jenna, "We haven't discussed it yet, but I figured it was only fair is we use both of our last names."

Jenna nodded and continued to suggest names. "Daniella? Nicole? Shanaynay?"

We both laughed loudly at the last name. It felt so good to laugh. I could feel the baby move around as I laughed, making the moment even better.

"What's all this laughter about?"

I stopped laughing slowly as I looked up at Damon.

"We were just talking about baby names. I think Elena has a favorite," Jenna laughed.

"Oh really?" Damon grinned. He looked down at me as he said, "Do tell."

"Shanaynay," I smirked.

"Oh that's a perfect name," he snorted.

"No need for sarcasm," I frowned.

"I'm just messing with you, Elena," he pushed my arm gently and I bit down on my lip. He left Jenna and I to ourselves after that, causing me to sigh.

"Is everything okay with you two?" Jenna asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," I shook my head. I stood up slowly and put on a smile. "Is there any cake?"

At the mention of cake, Caroline and Bonnie ushered me into the kitchen carefully. The cake was beautiful just like everything else and I wanted to whine at how many pictures Jenna, Caroline, and Bonnie were taking of me with the cake. Damon had to join in for a few of those pictures, confusing me even more. The way he wrapped his arm around my waist or around my shoulders caused my cheeks to turn red. I felt my stomach flip as he leaned over me, taking my hand in his as we both cut into the cake while the camera flashes went off one after the other over and over. I breathed heavily when I felt his cool breath on my cheek, when his eyes connected with mine, and when he gave me that trademark grin. What the fuck was going?

The rest of the baby shower went past in a blur. I had a great time, but I couldn't get my mind off of Damon and how he took care of me the entire night. I realized that we desperately needed to talk about the night I kissed him before it was too late.

"Elena would you like a ride home?" Jenna asked.

"No I'm going to stay behind. I'll be home later," I smiled tightly at her. We hugged each other before she left the house leaving behind myself, Alaric, and Damon.

Alaric wandered outside when I nodded my head towards Damon, telling him silently that I needed to talk to him. He took the hint and left us alone.

Damon turned to me as he moved around, gathering up the gifts. "Did you have a good time?" he asked.

"Damon skip the small talk," I said. I crossed my arms across my chest and looked at him. "We need to talk."


	28. Chapter 28

**Damon's P.O.V**

And so it began. I turned to look at her with a blank face. Elena was serious about the talk and I wanted to groan. I knew how it would end. It would end with one of us severely pissed off. That's how Elena and I worked. We fought and pushed each other to the edge where there really was no easy way to apologize about the fight. I didn't want to do it but I could in Elena's eyes that she wasn't going to drop anything.

I set down the box of diapers she had unwrapped moments before and said, "Talk."

"What are you doing, Damon?"

"Gathering up the gifts from your baby shower," I said in an obvious tone.

"I didn't mean that," she shook her head quickly.

"Then what did you mean, Elena?" I asked. I took a step closer to her and frowned when she took another step back. We were back to that.

"What was all this?" Elena asked. She gestured to the party decorations, the gifts, the crib, and the leftover plates of food surrounding us. "Why did you do all of this?"

"Because you're having my baby and you deserved a baby shower. Every mother-to-be deserves a baby shower. Is this all we need to talk about? The reasons why I threw you a baby shower?" I turned my back to her and continued to clean.

"No that is not all we need to talk about," I heard her say from behind me. The tone of her voice showed she was getting aggravated.

I turned back around and sighed. "What do you want to talk about, Elena?"

"Why haven't you been talking to me?" Elena sighed.

Looking into her eyes at that moment was a big mistake. They were wide and gave away every one of her emotions. I didn't see the happy and pregnant woman I had been seeing for the past couple of months. In that woman's place I saw a pregnant woman who was nervous, sad, angry, and afraid.

"Elena…" I spoke her name softly. I took another step towards but once again, she stepped back.

"No. Don't 'Elena' me," Elena shouted. "You've been ignoring me!"

"Elena you need to relax."

"Don't tell me to relax either!"

I could feel the anger rising in me but I did my best to push it down. I didn't want to get angry at her. I didn't want to make the situation worse, so I sighed again and turned around once more. I began to pick up the plates as she continued to talk.

"I am pregnant with your baby and I have no idea what the hell is going on with you, Damon. Everything was fine. Everything was fine but then you stopped talking to me! You don't come over anymore. You don't talk to me anymore. You don't do anything for me anymore."

"I didn't know I was supposed to be at your beck and call," I growled.

"You're supposed to be there for me because of this baby!" Elena continued to shout at me.

"I was there for you, Elena," I said. I tried my very best not to raise my voice at her. "I was there for you and I still am there for you, but don't you dare even try to put the blame on me."

"Oh so you're saying it's my fault? You're saying that you're not talking to me because of something I did?"

I dropped the plates and turned to look at her again. "Are you going to act as if you didn't kiss me?" I asked.

"That kiss was just a kiss," Elena shook her head. "It was no reason for you to stop talking to me."

I snorted and picked the plates back up. With them in my hands, I quickly moved into the kitchen and threw them in the garbage. That kiss was just a kiss. I should have known that was all it was to her. I heard her follow me into the kitchen and groaned.

"Damon talk to me," Elena said.

I moved over to her quickly and she jumped a little when I appeared right in front of her so suddenly. Her eyes widened as she looked up into my dark eyes. "Elena do you really think that kiss was just a kiss?"

"I-"

"Are we going to go back to how we were before this whole thing happened?" I cut her off. "Are we going to act as if there is absolutely nothing between us on that sort of level?"

"It's not acting because there is nothing between us on that level, Damon," Elena spoke up.

"Then you're an idiot for not being able to see that there is," I said in low tone, never pulling my eyes away from her.

"Excuse me?" she gasped.

"Go home and ask your Aunt Jenna what she sees between us. Better than that, call up your best friend Caroline or call up Stefan. Stand in the middle of the town square and ask anyone you and I know if there is something between us, then maybe you'll see that there is."

"They're wrong," Elena whispered.

"No. You're the only person who's wrong, Elena," I whispered back. I took a step closer to her but her pregnant belly wouldn't let me go any farther. "Let me fill you in on a little secret. I'm not here because I feel as if this baby is a responsibility. I'm not here because I knocked you up and feel bad about it. I'm here because I love that baby and I love you."

It was out in the open and Elena was silent. I had officially left her speechless. She had no comments to throw back at me, no words to shout. Instead, she looked up at me in shock. Her mouth was open slightly as if she wanted to say something but she didn't. I wasn't going to say anything else until she did, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Damon you can't love me," Elena said moments later.

"Why not? Is there some written rule that says I can't?" I snorted.

"Because…because of Stefan and-"

"I don't give a fuck about Stefan, Elena!" I shouted. I took three steps away from her as I continued to shout, "Stefan isn't here! Stefan left because even he could see that there was something going on between you and I. My own brother and your boyfriend at the time could see that, but you can't? What is it, Elena? What is it about me that makes it so difficult for you to believe that I'm capable of love?"

"I know you're capable of love, Damon."

"So what the fuck is the problem then? Stefan loved you and you had no problem loving him back. Is it because Stefan is different from me? Better than me?" I growled. "I apologize if I don't want to be a broody vampire who tortures himself by drinking animal blood and who deprives himself of what he really needs."

"Don't talk about Stefan like that!" Elena shouted at me.

"Why? Do you still love him, Elena? If you loved him then why did you have sex with me? Why did you kiss me? Why have you acted this entire fucking pregnancy like you love me back?"

"I didn't mean to act like that, Damon," Elena cried out.

I looked at her and saw her eyes filling up with tears. Something inside of me told me to stop shouting and I listened to it. I took a couple of minutes to calm myself down before looking back at her. I said in a soft voice, "Elena, please. Please be honest with me and with yourself. Do you really have no feelings for me?"

Another moment of silence passed. In the other room I could hear Alaric come inside. I looked at Elena with wide eyes, hiding none of my feelings. I waited and waited for her to say something. She breathed in and opened her mouth to speak. As she did so, I felt my whole body grow tense.

"No."

And it all came crashing down. I watched her leave and heard her ask Alaric for a ride home. She quickly moved out of the house as Alaric came into the kitchen. I said nothing to him. He patted me on the shoulder while handing me my bottle of bourbon, but said nothing. I said nothing either. He left shortly after and I could hear his car driving away. The bottle fell out of my hand and onto the floor, shattering into pieces. The anger was rising and I knew I had to do something about it. I raced out of the house and into the woods, looking for someone to feed on.

I stopped moving when I heard voices. There were three of them, all girls.

"Shit, I left the pillows in the car. Hailey, could you go get them?" One of the girls said.

"But the car is so far away," the girl named Hailey spoke up.

"I know but that was the only place I could find to park it. Just run and you'll be back quickly."

Hailey sighed and I smirked as I heard her quick footsteps. Soon I saw her moving through the trees, mumbling under her breath. She was a pretty little thing.

I followed her to the car and watched as she opened the trunk door then looked around for the pillows her friend needed. As she shut it, I rushed up behind her with a smirk.

"Jesus, dude! You scared the shit out of me!" she shouted.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," I said.

"Sure you didn't," Hailey said. She tried to step around me but I kept blocking her. "Dude seriously? What the-"

"You will stop what you're doing and listen to everything I have to say," I compelled her quickly.

She stopped trying to move around me and looked at me with concern. "Are you alright?"

"No," I shook my head. "I'm pissed off. I'm hurt. I'm hungry."

"Um…well I have a first aid kit and there's food at the campsite."

I chuckled and looked at her with dark eyes. "It's not that kind of hurt or hunger. Hailey, do you think I'm a good looking guy?"

"Yes."

"So why is it that this one girl just won't love me? I have given her everything. I didn't leave her when I found out she was pregnant. I took care of her. I gave her everything she could ever need and more."

"Well…well maybe she's just… I don't know," Hailey shrugged.

"Wrong answer," I growled. My eyes turned red as the veins beneath them surfaced and my fangs grew.

I watched in satisfaction as Hailey's eyes filled with fear. I sank my fangs into her neck and smirked as her screams filled my ears. I continued to drink, feeling like absolutely nothing could stop me, when an image popped in my head. I threw myself back and stared into the dark with wide eyes as I thought of the baby. I couldn't feed on Hailey anymore. As she sat on the ground crying and looking up at me in fear, I crouched down and fed her enough of my blood to make the bite mark fade away. I compelled her to go back to her friends and say she thought she had seen a snake before rushing back home.

I rushed into the living room and lost it. Glasses were being swung against the wall as I screamed in frustration. I was a monster. I was a monster who didn't deserve to have a child, who didn't deserve someone as beautiful and sweet as Elena. I was a monster who drank the blood of innocent people out of anger. How could I ever think, "Why does Elena not love me?" The answer was so clear. I was a monster. Someone like me deserved the worst in life.


	29. Chapter 29

**Elena's P.O.V**

Time was going by fast. I was waiting in the doctor's office for my final appointment. Unlike the other ones, I was by myself..

"Where's the young man that's always with you?" The woman at the desk asked me.

I cleared my throat and avoiding her eyes as I checked in. "He couldn't make it today."

I said nothing else as I sat down and waited for my name to be called. It felt weird to be by myself. I had no one to talk to or to keep me company. I had no one to be excited with me. I was alone like I should have been from the very beginning.

Damon and I hadn't spoken since the night of our fight at the baby shower. That was three weeks ago. Things had never been this bad between us before. If we had something to say about the baby, we used our friends as messengers.

_Flashback_

I was sitting on the couch with my feet propped up eating a glass of ice to cool myself down. It was another hot day and I couldn't stand it. I moved my head to the side when I heard the front door open. Alaric stepped in and I frowned.

"What does Damon have to say now?" I asked.

"What makes you think I'm here because of Damon?"

"Because that's how it's been for the past week."

"Elena just talk to the guy," Alaric sighed.

"No!" I snapped. "I have nothing to say."

"You could have fooled me."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"Elena since the fight you both have been using me, Jenna, Jeremy, Caroline and way too many other people to send messages to each other. No one else is going to say something about it but I think it's time that I did. You both are way too old for this shit, especially Damon. You are pregnant with his baby and whether you like it or not, the baby is coming soon. You two have to talk."

"We don't have to do anything," I growled.

"Yes you do," Alaric said in a firm voice.

"Alaric do me a favor and act like a teacher, not my Father," I stared at him with cold eyes.

"You know, Elena… maybe to you I am just your teacher," he shrugged his shoulders. "But to me, I'm more than that. Because of everything we have been through, I look at you as if you were my daughter. I'm the closest thing you have to a Father right now so I'm telling you that you need to get your act together. Ignoring Damon because he said things that you may have not liked is childish. You're better than that, Elena. I know you are."

_End flashback_

Just thinking of what Alaric said brought tears to my eyes. I wiped at my eyes when I heard my name being called. I followed the woman into the familiar room and changed into the familiar gown as I tried my best not to cry.

I looked up at the ceiling as I laid on the chair. I thought about how Alaric had been right. He had been right about everything. He may have been just my history teacher that was dating my Aunt, but I thought of him as more. I thought of him as a Dad. I listened to Alaric and stopped using everyone to say things to Damon. Instead, I tried to talk to him myself. I called him every day, but he never answered. I left voicemails, but he never called back. I texted him, but I never got any replies. It upset me and it hurt me, but I knew I could do nothing about it. It was all my fault that things were the way they were.

"Hello Elena," Doctor McCarthy greeted me with a smile.

I wiped away the tears that had fallen and tried my best to look happy as I said, "Hello, Doctor."

"No Daddy today for the last appointment?"

"Not today. Damon had things to do. He um…he's putting the last minute touches on the room," I quickly made up an excuse.

Doctor McCarthy smiled, "Are you both excited? The due date is soon."

"Yeah. We're very excited," I nodded my head.

Doctor McCarthy went about doing all that she had to do. The baby was still healthy as she had been at the first appointment. She had all ten fingers and ten toes, a set of eyes, one tiny little nose, and everything else a baby girl was supposed to have.

"I have a feeling she's going to look just like her Daddy," Doctor McCarthy commented.

"She's going to be a heartbreaker then," I laughed a little.

Doctor McCarthy looked over at me as she finished everything up. I sat up after she was done and took a deep breath.

"Elena is everything alright?"

I looked over at her and tried my best to smile. "Everything is good," I lied.

"You know as your Doctor I'm supposed to take care of you and I noticed that you're looking a bit more tired than usual today," she frowned.

"Things have been…stressful," I sighed.

"Stress is bad, Elena. You really should be trying your best to relax at this stage of the pregnancy. Any little thing could be harmful to you and your baby."

"I know," I nodded my head. "I just…I feel different. I don't feel like myself and I don't know why. I yell at people who don't deserve it. I've sort of pushed away certain people. I feel like I have changed."

"Those are called hormones, Elena. You're very emotional right now and you may not seem like yourself. It's very important that you relax. The baby is close and I promise you that everything will be okay after she is born. You are healthy, the baby is healthy, and it's going to be one of the easiest deliveries I have ever done. Not only that, but from what I have heard from you in the previous appointments you are surrounded by people that love you such as your Aunt and Damon," Doctor McCarthy smiled.

"Not you too," I groaned.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Doctor McCarthy, what makes you think Damon loves me? I know you're my Doctor and not a therapist or anything, but why do you think that? What the hell do you see?" I asked abruptly.

"I see something that I don't see often when girls your age come in. Damon is very supportive. He was here with you at every appointment and was truly interested in the baby. He asked many questions each time, some that he had already asked, and I could see that he loved you just by the way he looked at you. You are a very lucky lady, Elena. Don't let Damon go."

I had nothing to say. I smiled at her shortly before sliding off the chair. She took that as a sign that I was ready to leave and left so I could change. Once I changed she came back to hand me the two copies of the sonogram and said that she would see me whenever the baby decided to arrive.

On the way home, I thought about what she had said. I thought about what everyone had said. I could agree with them all on one thing and that thing was that I was very fortunate to have someone like Damon by my side for this. He stood by my side. He took responsibility. I still wasn't sure about whether or not he loved me, but I knew that he loved the baby. That was definite. I smiled a little as I thought back to a night where Damon had talked to the baby.

_Flashback_

I laughed loudly as Damon continued to speak to my stomach.

"Your Mommy likes to eat weird things," Damon said. "I can't wait until you're out so she can stop eating peanut butter covered pickles. Those are just nasty."

"They are not nasty! They're delicious!" I shouted.

"They are disgusting, Elena," Damon looked up at me. He looked back at my stomach and continued to speak, "Come out already, little girl. I want to meet you."

I stopped laughing but the smile remained on my face as he continued to speak. He went on and on about how she was going to have the best life ever and that she would get anything she wanted, except for a boyfriend. He said that wasn't allowed. That made me giggle.

_End flashback_

I wiped tears away as I stopped at a red light. I felt her kick my stomach and I looked down. "What, baby?" She kicked again. "Do you miss Daddy?" Two more kicks and I closed my eyes as more tears fell. "I miss him too."

The light turned green and I continued to drive. I made it to my house ten minutes later and parked. I slowly walked up the pathway and pushed the door open. I closed it behind me and dropped my keys down on the coffee table.

"Hello Elena."

I gasped and put my hand over my heart. It started to race instantly as I turned to face the dining room.

"Stefan."

He smiled and stood up from the table. My emotions were running crazy. I moved over to him as quickly as I could and wrapped my arms around his waist. I felt his hesitation but soon his body relaxed and he hugged me back.

"I'm so sorry," I cried into his shirt. "I'm so sorry for everything."

"Shh," Stefan whispered. He ran one hand along the back of my head and held it there. "It's okay. It's all okay, Elena."

I pulled away and looked up at him. "Why are you here? I thought you left," I sniffed.

"I couldn't miss the birth of my niece," Stefan grinned. "That would make me a shitty Uncle."

I laughed a little before burying my head in his shirt again. Stefan could tell something was wrong and that I wasn't crying just because I felt bad for what had happened between us. He asked no questions. Instead, he did what he always did. He comforted me. He allowed me to cry in his shirt and did nothing but sit with me. Stefan was there for me as a friend. It's what I needed. I needed a friend. What I needed more, though, was Damon.

* * *

><p>Stefan is back! This does not mean that Elena will go back to him. He is back with a brand new attitude and will cause no trouble. I couldn't leave him out for the rest of the story. I love him too much!<p>

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story, added it to your favorites, and added it to your list of story alerts. Keep the reviews coming! :)


	30. Chapter 30

**Damon's P.O.V**

September 1st. I took a deep breath as I stepped outside of the Boarding House. This was the month, the month my baby girl would be born. It was finally here and I couldn't be more excited. Besides being excited, I was nervous.

"What are you doing?"

I turned to the side as Stefan joined me. "Enjoying the fresh air, little bro," I said. I casted my eyes over to him, "Aren't you supposed to be in school? It's the first day."

"School? Really, Damon?" Stefan chuckled.

"I'm a shitty guardian," I shook my head.

"You have your moments. Don't you have other things to worry about besides my education?"

"Oh trust me. I have plenty to worry about," I raised my eyebrows as I began to walk over to my car.

"Please tell me you're finally going to talk to Elena," Stefan said as he followed me.

I spun around with wide eyes. "Have I entered an alternate universe? You're actually hoping that I'm going to talk the girl you love?"

"You don't have to put it that way but yes. You two need to talk."

I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms. "Why did you come back, Stefan? What's going on with you?"

"First off, I promised that I would be back for the baby. I don't want to miss that and I'm not going. Secondly, Caroline called me and told me that I needed to 'get my ass back to Mystic Falls to help patch things up' between you and Elena."

"Sadly the things that need 'patching up' between us can only be done by Elena," I rolled my eyes at my brother.

"And she wants to do that. Elena misses you, Damon. She hasn't said it directly to me but I can tell that she does."

"Just like you were able to tell that she loves me? That turned out bad, by the way."

"Elena is…Elena. What do you expect from her?" Stefan shrugged his shoulders. "I know her more than she thinks I does. I'm telling you that she misses you. If you go over there now, it'll make her day. Just talk it out with her. Don't yell or get frustrated. Just talk."

I stared at him with my eyebrows furrowed before saying, "When the fuck did you get so wise?"

"I've always been wise," Stefan smirked.

"And cocky," I raised my eyebrows. "That was a cute little heart-to-heart we had, but I need to go."

"Are you going to see Elena?"

"That was the plan from the minute I woke up," I said as I stepped into the car. Without saying anything else, I sped off and headed over to Elena's house.

As I drove, I thought about what Stefan said. Whether Elena missed me or not, I sure as hell missed her. I regretted all that I had done. I shouldn't have ignored her after the kiss and I shouldn't have fought with her. Elena didn't need that. I wasn't ready to lose whatever I had with her and my worst fear was that I did. I feared that Elena would shut me out of the baby's life. All I could do was hope that I was seriously wrong and that Stefan was right as I continued to drive.

When I pulled up to the front of the house, I relaxed a little bit when I saw that Alaric was there. I got out of the car and headed up the path, then pushed the front of the door open. I shouted through the house, "Lucy I'm home!"

Alaric moved out from the kitchen and said to me, "What are you doing here?"

"Came to talk to preggo," I said. "Where is she?"

"She," I heard a voice speak up. "Is right here."

I looked down at the couch to see Elena looking more beautiful than she had ever looked. She had her hair pulled up on top of her head and in her hand was a cup of ice. Her stomach seemed to have gotten bigger since I saw her at the baby shower and I frowned when I realized how much I had probably missed.

"We'll just be upstairs," Jenna said quickly. She grabbed Alaric by the hand and dragged him upstairs. When I heard the door close, I cleared my throat and shrugged my jacket off.

Tension hung in the air as we looked at each other. I didn't want to make the first move to say anything, but I had a feeling she wasn't going to say anything either.

She proved me wrong.

"Sit down," Elena said. "The couch doesn't bite."

"Well I hope it doesn't," I tried to grin as I sat down. "I would be concerned if it did."

She laughed a little, relaxing me a little more, before she bit down on some ice.

"How are you holding up?" I scratched the back of my head. I hated myself for feeling like an awkward, teenage boy. Damon Salvatore didn't do awkward.

"Okay, I guess," Elena shrugged. She looked down at her large stomach and sighed. "I kind of just want to have her already but Doctor McCarthy said that it may not happen for-"

"Another week or two," I finished her sentence. I remembered that little tidbit of information from one of the appointments I had gone to.

"Yeah," Elena said. She tore her eyes away from her stomach and looked at me.

"I hope you know that I plan on having someone with you until the baby is born," I said.

I had devised a plan where someone would stay with Elena for a couple of hours at a time just in case she went into labor. It would either be myself, Jenna, Jeremy, Alaric, Caroline, Bonnie, or even Stefan. I was taking no chances.

"Damon…" Elena sighed.

"I know, I know. You don't like that, but I'm looking out for you and the baby. Doctor McCarthy said that the baby isn't technically due until September 17th but she also said that you could go into labor and have the baby at any time from now until the end of September," I cleared my throat before finishing what I was going to say. "Listen… I know I haven't been the greatest Father in the past couple of weeks and I'm beating the shit out of myself for it. Just by looking at you now I can tell that I have missed so much and there really is no one else to blame but myself. I shouldn't have ignored you after we kissed. I shouldn't have fought with you at the baby shower. I must have put you under a lot of stress and I know that was the last thing that you needed."

"Damon, let me just-"

"No, Elena. Let me finish."

"No. I need to say something too," Elena stopped me from talking.

I sighed when I realized she wasn't going to let me say anything else without speaking first.

I watched as she sat up a little bit and tried to move closer to me. "We both are at fault. We both ignored each other after that kiss and we fought each other at the baby shower, the baby shower that you threw me. I said some things that were uncalled for…" Elena took a deep breath. "And I feel horrible about that. I'm sorry, Damon."

I looked at her and saw that she was trying her best not to cry. I gave her a small smile and slid my hand over hers as it rested on her stomach, "I'm sorry too."

After I said that, we both felt a hard kick against our hands. My small smile turned into an even bigger one. "Hey, don't kick me," I spoke to her stomach. The baby kicked again and I chuckled with Elena.

"She missed her Daddy," Elena said in a soft voice. "I missed him too."

I looked up at her and saw her smiling. That was enough for me. I slid closer to her and pulled her into a side hug as the baby continued to kick away.

"I will accept your plan to have everyone babysit me just because I'd rather not be alone whenever my water decides to break," Elena chuckled.

"Elena Gilbert accepting a plan from the one and only Damon Salvatore?" I gasped playfully. "Let me alert the media!"

"Oh don't be an ass," she shoved my arm.

I smirked, "I can't help it."

She rolled her eyes before adjusting herself again on the couch and biting some more ice. "Have you talked to Stefan?" Elena asked me.

"Briefly. Have you?"

"Yup," she popped the 'p'. "He's…different."

"Different?" I asked her.

"Yeah, in a good way. He's trying his best."

"Good," I said. I agreed with her silently. From the brief conversation I had with Stefan earlier, I could tell that he changed. He seemed more accepting of the entire situation and I would never say this out loud, but it made me happy. I knew he would be a great Uncle to the baby.

"You know what else is good?" Elena asked.

"What's that, preggo?"

"Beauty and the Beast," she smirked.

"Not that movie again," I groaned.

"Yes! Please, Damon? The baby loves it!"

"How could the baby love it?" I snorted.

"Whenever I watch it, she kicks my stomach a lot. She loves it. She kicks up a storm during 'Be Our Guest'," Elena smiled.

I sighed as I looked at her. "I will watch that horrible movie but only for our daughter."

"Oh sure. Only for her," she grinned.

I could tell that she saw right through me and I grinned back as I stood up to put the movie on for her. When I sat back down she curled up against my side and held onto me. She took one of my hands and pressed it against her stomach, then held her hand over it. I rested my chin on her head as I smiled. This was how it was supposed to be from the beginning and I'd be damned if things between us were to be ruined again.


	31. Chapter 31

**Elena's P.O.V**

"Stefan you're an ass!" I shouted.

"What the fuck did I do?" Stefan shouted back at me as he smirked.

"You bought the Golden Gate Bridge!" I tossed my multicolored money at him as he laughed loudly. As he continued to laugh, I crossed my arms across my chest and pouted. "This isn't funny! I wanted to buy that bridge!"

"Oh you did? I don't remember you saying that," Stefan smirked

"I mentioned it a million times!"

He continued to laugh and I continued to pout as I pushed my chair out. I stood up carefully and moved into the kitchen to get myself a glass of water, putting a pause on the intense game of Monopoly I was playing with Stefan. It was his turn to "watch over me" that day. My due date was in three days, September 17th, but the baby could arrive anytime shortly before or after that. Instead of sitting around while he was with me, I told Stefan to pull out the board game. Sadly, I was losing.

"Are you giving up on the game?" he chuckled.

"Oh hell no," I shook my head. "I'm taking a much needed break."

He rolled his eyes and moved over to me to get his own glass of water. "Go sit down," he said. "You shouldn't be on your feet."

"The baby isn't going to fall out, Stefan. I can stand," I rolled my eyes. Seconds after I said that, I felt my back start to hurt. I continued to drink my water and acted like nothing was wrong. As I did so, my eyes drifted over to his and I found him smirking.

"You're back is hurting, isn't it?"

"No," I scoffed. "My back does not hurt."

"Elena…"

"Fine. It hurts. I'll go sit down on the couch," I sighed. I moved my feet across the floor slowly until I reached the couch. Stefan reached behind me to fluff the pillows before I sat down. He pushed over the foot rest for me and I slowly pulled my feet up to rest.

"You know," Stefan said. "I don't think I've ever been around this much baby stuff in my entire life."

I looked around and couldn't help but agree with him. I might as well have been living in Babies "R" Us. There was a bassinet down in the living room and also in my room for the baby to sleep in. There were two tall piles of boxes that held diapers inside stacked against the wall next to bags and bags of clothes that I hadn't put away yet. Jenna had stacked the bottles neatly in one of the cabinets last week and in the process had to move the bottles of wine. Alaric was very confused when he opened up the cabinet later that night.

"It's pretty crazy," I said as I looked around.

"Are you excited?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I found myself smiling as my hand moved to rest on my stomach. "I've always wanted to have a baby girl. I never expected it to happen this way, though."

"Do you regret how it happened?"

I froze. I didn't know how to answer that. I looked over to him and said, "Stefan…"

"It's okay, Elena. I'm okay," Stefan took a deep breath before he continued to speak. "You want a baby and you're going to have one. Damon misses being human and you make him feel like one. Both of you are very happy. At the end of the day, that's all that should matter to everyone and that's what matters."

I felt myself begin to smile and he smiled back.

"So do you? Do you regret it?"

I opened my mouth to give him my answer when the front door opened.

"Speak of the devil," Stefan said.

"What lovely things are you saying about me now, Stefan?" Damon asked as he sauntered into the room. He stood in front of the couch and looked down at his brother.

"I was just telling Elena about how you're going to love changing every single dirty diaper," Stefan turned his head towards Damon and smirked.

"I really do appreciate that, Damon," I grinned.

"Don't get your hopes up, preggo. I'll clean some dirty diapers but you'll clean some as well," Damon said as he poked me in the arm.

I chuckled and bit my lower lip when he poked me. I wasn't sure if the feeling in my stomach was the baby moving or if it was butterflies flying rapidly from such a small touch.

"Is Stefan's shift for watching me over?" I asked.

"No," Damon shook his head. "I have to go out of town. We're running low on our special juice boxes."

"When will you be back?" Stefan asked.

"Early tomorrow morning at the latest," Damon shrugged his shoulders. "Is that okay with you, Elena?"

"Why are you asking me? If you have to go, go. You two need those."

"Then I'll head out now so I can be back earlier," he said. He moved over to me and kissed me on the cheek quickly before rubbing my stomach. "I'll talk to you you tomorrow, peanut."

"She is not a peanut, Damon," I groaned. He had grown accustomed to calling her peanut.

"Yes she is," he grinned.

I picked up a pillow and tossed it at him as Stefan laughed. I rolled my eyes as I leaned back into the couch.

"Call me if anything happens," Damon said.

"Will do, brother," Stefan grinned.

Damon left the house without another word. I took a sip from my water as I felt the feeling in my stomach settle. The blush that had settled into my cheeks still remained.

"He's going to be a great Dad," I heard Stefan say.

I smiled and nodded my head in agreement with him. "I've known that from the beginning, Stefan."

A moment of silence passed between us. Thankfully it wasn't awkward. Stefan really had moved on and though I could tell that he still loved me, he was starting to become more accepting of the entire situation. Things between us were better. Things between Stefan and Damon were still a bit rocky, but I knew that they were on the road to improving their relationship. That made me happier more than anything.

"Shall we get back to our game of Monopoly?"

"Yes!" I said. I pushed myself up so I was sitting straight as I looked over at him. "If you buy Disney World, I will beat you."

"Sure you will," he nodded his head.

Stefan stood up and rushed over to the table before I could hit him. I stood up slowly and made my way over to the table to sit down. Our game of Monopoly continued for another hour and a half. I had successfully purchased Disney World, but nothing else so far. I was still losing horribly.

"You really suck at this game," Stefan laughed at me.

"No I don't," I frowned. "You're just a greedy bastard."

While he laughed loudly, I felt the baby kick my stomach hard. I heard a sound similar to a pop, almost like a rubber snapping, before I felt the familiar sensation of having to go to the bathroom. I stood up slowly and told Stefan that I was going to take a short bathroom break. I practically waddled over to the stairs. As I stepped onto the first step, I felt a gush of water drop into my pants. My eyes widened as I realized that I didn't have to go the bathroom. "Stefan…"

"What's up, Elena?"

"My water just broke."

"What!" Stefan shouted. I heard the noise of a chair falling back as he rushed over to me. "Are you sure?"

"The puddle of water in my pants has me one hundred percent sure," I nodded my head.

"Okay," he nodded his head. I watched as he tried to get himself together. "Okay. We have to get you to the hospital. Where's the hospital bag Damon told me about?"

"It's upstairs," I said. "All of my clothes are in there."

Stefan raced upstairs and made it back down in seconds with the bag in his hand. "Do we need anything else? I can't remember if we need anything else. Shit, why couldn't this have happened when Damon was here?"

I watched as he continued to ramble and I sighed before shouting, "Stefan!"

He stopped rambling and looked at me.

"Breathe. You're more frantic than I am. Get me in the car, drive me to the hospital, and call everyone."

Stefan nodded his head and took my hand in his. He led me out to the car and helped me sit down in it before rushing to the other side. He started to drive automatically as I took deep breaths to keep myself calm.

"Should I call Damon first?"Stefan asked.

I nodded my head frantically. As he dialed the number I held my hand out for the phone and said, "Let me tell him."

I held the phone up to my ear as it rang and I waited impatiently for Damon to pick up. "Come on," I muttered under my breath.

"What's up, Stefan?"

"Damon it's Elena," I said in a rushed tone.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"My water broke. Stefan's bringing me to the hospital now. I know I said that you should get the blood bags but I really need you so please meet us at the hospital," I said. I began to feel myself start to lose all calmness as I realized that I was in labor. I was going to give birth.

"I'll be there by the time you get to the hospital, Elena."

That was all he needed to say. He hung up and I handed the phone back to Stefan so he could call everyone else. I focused on relaxing myself as best as I can and found that what relaxed me the most was knowing Damon was on his way.

* * *

><p>The baby is coming! You'll be happy to hear that the next couple of chapters are going to be very long. Sit back, enjoy, and review. :)<p> 


	32. Chapter 32

**Damon's P.O.V**

Mystic Falls Hospital had never seemed so far away. I sped down the highway, going way past the speed limit, without a care in the world. As soon as I hung up on Elena, I dropped the blood bags in my trunk and took off.

I turned into the parking lot sharply, scaring a few civilians, and parked. I jumped out of the car and rushed into the hospital, heading straight for the main desk.

"Elena Gilbert," I slammed my hands down on the desk. "Elena Gilbert. She's in labor. Was she checked in yet? Did she have the baby?" I asked in a rush.

"The Father has finally arrived!"

I turned and saw Doctor McCarthy smiling at me. She excused herself from the conversation she had been having with a nurse and walked over to me.

"Where's Elena? Is she alright?" I asked.

"Elena is fine, Damon. Relax," she chuckled as she patted me on the arm. "She was just set up in a room. You can find her on the fourth floor in room 580."

I thanked the doctor and rushed off without another word. I sped up the stairs, knowing the elevators would take too long, and moved at a human pace when I was in the halls of the hospital. The sound of babies crying surrounded me as I looked at each and every door, cursing low under my breath when each of them didn't turn out to be Elena's room.

"Damon!"

I turned my head sharply and let out a sigh of relief. Stefan was standing at the end of the hall. I jogged over there, dodging the various people that stepped in my way.

"Where is she?" I asked Stefan.

He pointed inside the room he was standing in and I moved in quickly.

Elena was sitting up in a bed, holding her stomach. A few hair strands fell out of the ponytail her hair was in, framing her beautiful face that held a small smile.

"About time you got here," she joked.

"I'm sorry. I think I beat every law in the book to get here as fast as I could," I explained to her as I pulled the chair over to sit next to her.

"It's not like you've never broken them before," Stefan spoke up from the doorway.

I skipped any sarcastic comment I could have made as I turned to him and instead said, "Thanks for getting her here, brother."

He gave a small smile. "It was no problem at all," he said. "I'll get you that ice now, Elena."

"Thank you, Stefan," she said.

My brother left the room, leaving us two by ourselves. I looked at her with a small smile of my own as I asked, "How are you doing?"

"Surprisingly good," Elena answered. "Doctor McCarthy came in a couple of minutes ago. I'm only four centimeters dilated and my contractions are ten minutes apart."

"Looks like it's going to be a long night, huh?" I tried to joke with her.

"Oh yeah," she agreed with me.

"Did Stefan call everyone?"

"Yes but not everyone is coming."

"Why not?"

"I don't want the waiting room packed. Aunt Jenna, Alaric, and Jeremy are on their way. Caroline and Bonnie told him to keep them posted so that is his job for the night while I focus on getting this baby out."

I chuckled as she patted her stomach and leaned my forearms on the bed. "You seem excited," I pointed out.

"I am excited," Elena said. She gave me a weird look. "Did you expect me not to be?"

"I expected you to be a raging lunatic screaming at everyone because of your condition like the pregnant women in those movies you made me watch," I grinned.

"Oh. That'll come later on," she grinned back at me.

We started to laugh before she took a sharp breath. She sat up straight and shut her eyes tight while she took deep breaths. I slid my hand in hers and allowed her to squeeze it as tight as she could. I knew she was going through a contraction and counted the seconds in my head carefully. It lasted forty seconds. After it was over, she opened her eyes and relaxed herself against the pillows.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

She nodded her head, "Yeah. It's all good."

"Still saving the raging lunatic act for later on in the night?" I asked with a grin.

She rolled her eyes and tried not to laugh, but did so anyway.

"I'm back with ice," Stefan said as he stepped back into the room.

"And with me!"

Aunt Jenna stepped into the room after Stefan and rushed over to Elena.

"Hey Aunt Jenna," Elena smiled.

She kissed Elena's forehead as Stefan handed her the ice. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"She just had another contraction. It lasted forty seconds," I told Jenna.

"Good. And how dilated are you?"

"Please do not talk about that with me in the room," Alaric said as he stepped in.

I was happy to see Alaric and stood up to shake his hand.

"And how are you doing?" he asked in a low voice.

I held up my thumb to tell him I was okay before turning back to Elena.

"Where's Jeremy?" Elena asked.

"He'll be here soon. He had to ask Matt to let him leave work early," Jenna said as she took my seat. "You're still only in the early labor stage so he's got time to get here."

"How bad are the contractions?" Alaric asked.

"Not too bad right now," Elena said in between bites of the ice cubes. "They'll get worse later on so I'm not complaining."

I moved to lean against the wall and watched Elena interact with everyone around her. The smile on her face never faded. Her eyes stayed bright. She was a teenager in the stages of labor, getting ready to give birth to a baby girl, and yet she was still smiling. Elena laughed whenever someone made a joke, made jokes of her own, and didn't complain once. I knew later on in the night that she would be complaining, but I also knew that she would be back to being happy as soon as she held that baby in her arms. I didn't need anymore convincing. I wasn't in denial. I wasn't acting as if this were all a dream. Whether I deserved it or not, I would be a Father in a couple of hours and the thought was enough to make me smile.

My thoughts were interrupted when I saw Elena get hit with another contraction. Jenna counted the seconds out loud as I moved back to Elena's side so she could squeeze my hand. The contraction lasted longer than the previous one and I frowned.

"They're getting longer and closer," Jenna said to me. "Don't worry."

"Damon, come with me to get something from the vending machines," Alaric said.

"I don't want to leave Elena, Ric," I said as my eyes darted up to him.

"The baby won't pop out while you're gone," Elena chuckled. "Go. I'll be okay."

I sighed and kissed her cheek quickly before following Alaric out of the room.

"So how are you really doing?" Alaric asked.

"I said I was okay before," I said to him.

"And you expected me to believe that?" he chuckled.

"For once in my life I am excited," I admitted. "But I'm still nervous."

"Why are you nervous? She seems to be making good progress."

"It's only been an hour, Ric. She's got a whole night ahead of her. Anything could happen."

"You're paranoid," Alaric said.

"What? Are you my therapist or something?" I snorted.

"No. I'm your friend," he said. His hand darted out and grabbed my arm. We stopped in the hallway and I looked at him, telling him to continue saying whatever he had to say. "I know it has to be…scary, especially for you. We're all nervous. It's the beginning and so much can happen, but we have to follow Elena's example. I don't think I've ever seen her that happy though Im sure that'll change in a few hours and we'll all be running away with our tail between our legs."

I laughed a little at the thought of Elena scaring us all.

"Stay excited. Relax. You're going to be a Father in a couple of hours. That's not something people like you get to say everyday," Alaric finished off his little speech.

"Thanks, Ric," I said with a nod of my head. We embraced each other in a manly hug and I patted him on the back before pulling away. We continued to the vending machines before turning around and moving back to the room. I saw Stefan standing outside.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Doctor McCarthy's doing a check-up," Stefan told me.

I nodded my head before poking my head into the room. "Is it okay if I come in?" I asked.

"Sure, Damon," Doctor McCarthy said.

I moved in and shut the door behind me, taking my usual spot next to Elena.

"Alright, Elena. You're officially out of the early labor stage. Things are going to get a little rough soon so just hang in there, okay?"

"Is this the part where she turns into the Hulk?" I grinned.

Elena lifted her hand and punched me in the stomach. I pretended that it hurt and leant over a little, groaning.

"That means yes," the doctor chuckled. "Elena you're six centimeters dilated. The contractions are going to be closer together now so just try your best to get through them. Relax. Eat your ice. Don't stress out."

"How long do you think I have left?" she asked.

"I'd say about an hour and a half," Doctor McCarthy answered. "I'll be back in thirty minutes to check up on you, okay?"

"Thank you, Doctor," I said.

Jenna followed the Doctor out to talk to Alaric and Stefan while I sat back down in the chair.

"Was it necessary to punch me, Elena?"

"Yes. You made an asshole comment and deserved to be punched. It didn't even hurt you so don't complain," she rolled her eyes at me.

"It hurt my feelings," I pouted my lips as I placed my hand over my heart.

"Oh please," she snorted.

"Happy Elena is gone, I see," I chuckled.

"No. Happy Elena is still here," she said.

"Oh she is?"

"Yes. She's just waiting for this baby to hurry the hell up and get out so she can sleep," she said.

"Oh, I see," I grinned at her.

"You know we never talked about names," Elena said suddenly.

I frowned when I realized she was right. "I always thought you had something picked out, along with the godparents."

"I have the Godparents figured out. I want Aunt Jenna to be the Godmother. You can pick the Godfather."

"Do you think Alaric would take the spot?" I asked.

"Of course he would. Aunt Jenna and Ric will be the Godparents," she nodded her head.

"Now what about names?" I said as I leaned on the bed.

Before she could answer, she was hit with another contraction. She grabbed my hand and squeezed tightly while I counted again. I expected them to stop at forty seconds like before, but it lasted for longer. I counted up to a minute and fifteen seconds, before she finally loosened up on her grip and opened up her eyes.

"How long was that?" she asked.

"A minute and fifteen seconds," I said. "They are getting longer."

Before we could say anything else, the door opened and Jeremy stepped in.

"I'm here," he said.

"No shit," Elena snapped.

I bit back a laugh at Jeremy's expression. "She's a bit testy," I explained.

Jeremy ended up chuckling and moved closer to the bed to kiss Elena's forehead. "Hello to you too, sis. How are you holding up?"

"I'm a little nervous and tired, but I'm okay," Elena said.

"Don't be nervous. You're doing great," I tried to be reassuring. When she smiled at me, I knew my words had helped a little.

"My niece likes to take her sweet time," Jeremy laughed.

"Yes she does," Elena laughed with him.

"And what about you?" he asked me.

"I'm not the one giving birth so I'm okay," I grinned.

Elena moved to hit me again and I dodged her quickly, laughing loudly when she groaned out in frustration at her miss. As I was laughing, she was hit with another contraction. We repeated the process and when it was over, I saw that her eyes looked a little teary.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," she shook her head and took a deep breath.

"Is it the contractions?" I pushed a piece of hair out of her face as she nodded. "Can I do anything to help you?"

"Ice. I need more ice," she said.

I nodded my head and handed the cup to Jeremy. "Get more ice for her, Jer."

He nodded and left the room quickly.

"They're getting worse," she said in a small voice.

"That's normal, Elena. Doctor McCarthy said that would happen."

"I know but I didn't expect them to hurt that much."

"Hey," I slid my hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "Think of it like this. In a few hours, you'll be holding that baby in your arms and all of the pain that you've gone through in the past nine months will be worth it."

"And where will you be when I'm holding the baby?"

Our eyes connected and for a moment, I could have sworn that we moved closer to each other and that time stopped. I gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand once more as I said, "I'm going to be right next to you. I hate to break this to you but once that baby is born, you are never getting rid of me."

She smiled back at me and said, "I can deal with that."

Jenna and Jeremy came back in shortly after. We tried to keep the conversations nice and easy to make Elena feel comfortable. We helped her through each and every contraction. I felt bad and nervous when she began to cry out in pain as the night went on. Doctor McCarthy assured us that her behavior was normal, but that didn't stop me from worrying any less.

It was getting later. I checked my phone and saw that it was eleven at night. Elena was growing tired along with everyone else. The doctor had been in twenty minutes ago, telling us that she was eight centimeters dilated. The baby was closer than it had ever been.

"It really hurts," Elena cried out.

"You're almost there, Elena," Jenna said in a soft voice as she rubbed her head.

"Why didn't I choose to get the epidural?" she continued to cry.

I frowned and kissed her hand gently. "Just a little longer, Elena."

Doctor McCarthy walked in shortly after. "How are doing, Elena?"

"Please tell me I'm fully dilated," Elena pleaded with the doctor.

Jeremy, Alaric, and Stefan left the room so the doctor could check and the rest of us waited impattienly for her to tell us.

"Ten centimeters dilated. You're there," the doctor smiled. She called in a nurse and said, "Get her to the delivery room and set her up. Also supply these two with scrubs to wear in the delivery room."

I smiled at Elena and turned to her. "It's time, Elena."

"Time for what?" she asked in a tired voice.

"To have the baby," I chuckled.

The nurse asked me to step to the side and pulled up the sides of the bed.

"We'll be right there with you, okay?" Jenna said. She kissed her on the forehead one more time.

"I'll see you soon," Elena gave us both a small smile before the nurse wheeled her out of the room. I watched her as I took a deep breath. Doctor McCarthy handed Jenna and I blue scrubs to wear.

"Put these on and I'll take you both to the delivery room," she directed us.

We both nodded and I took another deep breath.

"Damon," Jenna said.

I looked over at her with my eyebrows raised. "What's up?"

"Everything's going to be okay," she smiled. Before I could said anything, she went into the bathroom to pull her scrubs on. When she was done I moved in there quickly to pull mine on as fast as I could. Once we were both done we met the doctor out in the hall and hurried to the delivery room. In that moment I could swear that I had never been that nervous and excited.


	33. Chapter 33

**Elena's P.O.V**

"It really hurts," I cried out.

The pain was nothing I could have ever imagined. As Jenna rubbed my head and as Damon held onto my hand while I cried through another contraction, I thought back to all of the books I read and all of the videos I watched.

"It's a wonderful experience," they all said.

"Nothing is better than giving birth," they all said.

What a load of bullshit.

"You're almost there, Elena," Jenna said to me.

"Why didn't I choose the epidural?" I continued to cry. I was seriously regretting my decision about telling Doctor McCarthy that I didn't want the epidural. I couldn't even remember why I said no.

I felt Damon kiss my hand gently as I leaned back. Another contraction had passed. "Just a little longer, Elena," Damon said.

I was about to say something when I heard a knock on the door. We all looked up and saw Doctor McCarthy came in. She gave me a smile that I couldn't return.

"How are you doing Elena?" she asked.

"Please tell me I'm fully dilated," I pleaded with her.

I looked over at Jeremy, Alaric, and Stefan. As Doctor McCarthy moved to check how dilated I was, they awkwardly shuffled out of the room. I felt as if she was taking longer than usual to check. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths in an attempt to calm myself down.

"Ten centimeters dilated. You're there," I heard her say. My mind didn't register her words. "Get her to the delivery room and set her up. Also supply these two with scrubs to wear in the delivery room."

I found opening my eyes to be a difficult task. They felt heavy and I knew it must have been because I was so tired. I didn't see who Doctor McCarthy talked to, but I guessed it was a nurse. Instead of seeing the nurse, I saw Damon smiling at me. "It's time, Elena."

"Time for what?" I asked. I even sounded tired. This baby needed to arrive so I could get some much-needed sleep.

"To have the baby," Damon chuckled.

If I could, I would have jumped for joy. My eyes opened a little more just as the nurse moved back in and pulled up the sides of the hospital bed. I felt a bit nervous, feeling kind of like an animal being caged in, and I looked over at Jenna with wide eyes.

"We'll be right there with you, okay?" Jenna said to me. I felt her kiss me on the forehead again, which helped to calm me down a little bit.

I gave her a small smile and gave Damon the same. "I'll see you soon," I said.

I felt the bed begin to move, causing me to become a little more nervous.

"Take deep breaths, Elena," the nurse smiled down at me. "Everything's going to be great."

I watched as people moved past us. They all moved out of the way as we turned corners and moved down long hallways. The delivery room seemed so far away, but I knew that it was probably close. The nerves kicked in once more when the nurse pushed me through the doorway of the delivery room. I looked around for Damon and Jenna, but all I saw was Doctor McCarthy and other people I didn't know.

"Where's Damon?" I asked. My eyes scanned the room quickly in a panic. He wasn't here.

"He'll be here soon, Elena. Let's get you ready," Doctor McCarthy said.

"No!" I shook my head. "No, no, no. Where's Damon? I need Damon!"

"I'm here!"

I turned my head to the side quickly and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank God," I said.

I held my hand out for him as I continued to take deep breaths. He grabbed my hand tightly and rushed to my side.

"I'm here," he kept saying.

I saw Jenna move in after him and watched as one of the nurses closed the door behind her. My Aunt moved to the other side of the bed and held my other hand. As she grabbed my hand, I cried out. I was hit with another contraction. "It hurts so bad!" I cried out. I felt like pushing and took a deep breath, preparing to do so.

"No, Elena. Don't push yet," Doctor McCarthy told me.

"But it fucking hurts!" I screamed. I grinded my teeth together as I squeezed Damon and Jenna's hands.

"I know it does but you aren't ready to push yet."

"So why the fuck did you move me into the delivery room!" I continued to scream as the pain seemed to increase.

"Elena," Jenna whispered. "Elena, breathe. Deep breaths just like in your room."

I shut my eyes tight and whimpered in pain.

"Elena," I heard Damon say.

I lifted my head to look at him.

He gave me a small smile and brushed my hair out of my forehead, then leaned down and kissed it gently. I felt the pain fade away and closed my eyes for a moment before opening them again.

"You have made it this far," he said in a comforting voice. "Remember what I said before?"

I nodded my head and repeated his words in a soft voice, "In a few hours you'll be holding that baby in your arms."

"Yeah," he nodded his head. "A few hours have past and you did great. Now you have to get through these next couple of minutes. You can do it, Elena."

I shook my head and said, "I can't."

"Yes you can," Damon smiled at me. He squeezed my hand. "This will be nothing compared to what you have been through before. It'll all be worth it. I promise, Elena."

"Damon…" I whispered. As I looked up at him, I felt my heart start to beat faster than it was. For a moment I thought it was another contraction, but I quickly realized it wasn't.

"What's up, preggo?"

"I-" I groaned when I couldn't finish my sentence as I felt another contraction. I leaned forward a little and grinded down on my teeth again, waiting for the pain to pass. When it did, I looked up at the nurse standing at the bottom of the bed.

"She's ready to push, Doctor," one of the nurses said.

Doctor McCarthy moved over to me and gave me a comforting smile. "Are you ready, Elena?"

I nodded my head rapidly despite how nervous I was feeling. I squeezed Damon and Jenna's hands harder, feeling a little better when they squeezed back. My feet were lifted up into stirrups shortly after that.

"I want you to listen carefully to my instructions. I'm going to count to ten each time you have a contraction while you hold your breath. After I say ten, you push for another ten seconds. It's going to happen multiple times during a contraction so try your best to relax. I know that sounds impossible, but try."

I nodded my head, taking a deep breath.

"You can do this," Jenna said to me. "We're right here for you, Elena."

I nodded my head and went to say something, but was cut off by another contraction. I shut my eyes tight and held my breath just as Doctor McCarthy told me to. I heard her counting to town and tried my best to resist the urge to push until I had to.

"Push!" I heard her, Damon, and Jenna yelled.

I cried out as I pushed. Doctor McCarthy continued to count as Damon and Jenna said things in my ear. I couldn't hear what they were saying over my cries as I pushed and felt my whole entire body weaken when the countdown reached ten.

"Great job, Elena. Another push when I say ten, okay?" Doctor McCarthy.

I nodded my head, too tired to answer her. She started to count to ten again and I was filled with dread when I realized I would have to push again.

"Eight, nine, ten. Push!"

I shut my mouth tight as I pushed for the second time. I could feel the energy leaving my body. I felt like I couldn't push anymore.

"One, two, three…" she kept counting.

"No!" I cried out. "I can't push anymore. It hurts. Please don't make me push!"

"Elena you have to push," Jenna said in my ear.

"But it hurts!"

"I know it hurts but you have to do it," she said. "You're doing so great. Don't give up, Elena."

"Ten. Push!" Doctor McCarthy said.

This time, I ended up practically screaming as I pushed. It felt like the longest ten seconds of my life as I felt an immense pain shoot through my body.

"It really hurts!" I continued to cry out.

"Elena!" Damon said. He grabbed my face gently and turned it towards him. "Look at me. Focus on me. You can do this."

"I can't," I shook my head. I couldn't say anything else as I shook my head. Doctor McCarthy continued to count and I wanted to tell her to stop, but I knew I couldn't do that. I had no energy to yell at her.

"Just focus on me, Elena. I'm right here," Damon whispered to me then squeezed my hand.

"The baby is crowning, Elena. Don't push until I tell you to," I heard the doctor say. I didn't turn to look at her. Instead, I looked into Damon's eyes.

"Breathe with me. Remember that technique you tried to teach me so I could help you?" he asked.

I nodded my head and whispered, "Yeah."

"Good. We're going to use it, okay? We're going use it right now. Take a deep breath."

We took a deep breath together and let it out slowly. This was repeated for the next minute until Doctor McCarthy started to count again.

"You can do this," Damon continued to say.

Doctor McCarthy got closer and closer to saying ten as I held my breath. I held my chin to my chest as I leaned forward. I shut my eyes tight and pushed hard, biting down on my lip to stop myself from screaming, while I pushed. I opened them when I heard shouts in the room.

"I can see the head, Elena! You're doing great! One more push!" Doctor McCarthy shouted.

"You can see the head?" I asked. "You can see it?"

"Yes!" Jenna said. I looked up at her and saw that she had tears in her eyes. I turned my head to look over at Damon. I had never a smile so big on his face. Suddenly, I didn't feel so tired. I didn't feel weak. I felt stronger than ever as my eyes connected with Damon's.

Doctor McCarthy told me to get ready to push and I held my breath once more. Damon and Jenna joined in on the count to ten this time and when they all shouted 'push', I pushed like never before. I screamed even louder than before, feeling the pain increase. I looked up with teary eyes as my screams died down. There was another sound in the room. It wasn't the sound of the nurses moving around in the background. It wasn't the sound of Doctor McCarthy counting to ten or yelling at me to push. It wasn't Jenna telling me that it was almost over. It wasn't the sound of Damon telling me how great I was doing.

It was a sound I had heard before many times in my life, but never with so much meaning. It was a sound that could easily be recognized by anyone. It was a sound that caused all of the other sounds to stop. It was a sound that brought tears to my eyes and a small smile to my face. It was a sound that changed my life forever.

It was the sound of my baby crying.


	34. Chapter 34

**Damon's P.O.V**

As a vampire, you get to see a lot of things because you don't age. That's a known fact amongst vampires and all who know about vampires. I can assure you that I've seen a lot, but do you want to know something? There is one thing that takes first place amongst all the things I've seen. That one thing is my baby girl.

I couldn't hear anything but the sound of her crying as Doctor McCarthy pulled her out into the world. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Elena straining to catch a glimpse of the baby, despite how tired she must have been, but all I could focus on was the baby. She seemed so small in the doctor's hands as she continued to cry hysterically.

"She's so beautiful, Elena," I heard Jenna say.

I looked over to Elena's other side and saw Jenna wiping at her eyes. She was crying with Elena. I looked back to the baby as Doctor McCarthy asked us, "Who would like to cut the umbilical cord?"

Elena laid her head back down on the pillow as she looked at me.

"Damon? Would you like to do it?" Doctor McCarthy asked.

I shook my head and gulped. I had no idea what to do. I could hurt the baby. I looked over at Jenna and told her to do it. While she did that, I looked down at Elena and kissed her forehead. I whispered to her, "You did amazing."

"Did I really?" she asked me.

I chuckled at how adorable she sounded. You could hear how tired she was just by listening to her speak. I nodded my head and said, "Yes you did."

She gave me a small smile. "I want to see her, Damon."

I looked over at the Doctor who was wrapping our daughter up in a pink blanket. She turned with the baby in her arms and started to walk over to us.

"She's perfect, you two. Seven pounds and two ounces, twenty inches long, and she has all ten fingers and toes," Doctor McCarthy said.

Elena sat up and held her arms out for the baby. As Doctor McCarthy placed the baby in her arms, I saw Elena's eyes fill with tears as Jenna and I leaned over her.

"Hi baby," Elena whispered to the little girl in her arms. "I'm your Mommy."

I smiled when she opened her eyes and looked up at Elena.

"She has your eyes, Damon," Jenna pointed out.

I looked up at Jenna briefly before looking down at the baby's eyes. They were blue, just like mine.

"She's so beautiful," Elena said in a soft voice. She lifted her index finger to her hand and laughed a little as the baby wrapped its fingers around hers.

"She may have my eyes but that's Elena's nose," I smiled a little.

Elena looked up at me before looking down at the baby. "That's your Daddy. Say hi to Daddy," she said.

I watched as she lifted the baby's hand and waved it gently towards me. I choked back tears as she did so and said in a soft voice, "Hi baby girl."

Doctor McCarthy moved over to us and said, "Alright. Let's get this little one over to the nursery and let's get Elena back in her room so she can rest."

I watched as she took the baby back and frowned. I didn't want her to take the baby. "Where are you taking her?"

"We're just going to take her to the nursery so Elena can get some rest. You can see her in a couple of minutes. I'm sure you want to give the family the good news."

I watched as my baby was put into the glass bassinet and wheeled out of the room, stopping myself from running after her and taking the baby back.

"Relax, Damon," Jenna chuckled. She stood up straight after leaning down to kiss Elena's forehead. "Take a nap and I'll see you when you wake up."

Elena nodded her head and looked up at Jenna with tired eyes. "Thank you for staying with me, Aunt Jenna."

My eyes darted to Jenna's and I saw that they were tearing up again. She kissed Elena's forehead once more and gave her a small smile before leaving the room.

I cleared my throat and looked down at Elena. "I'm going to go tell everyone how it went with Jenna then go check on the baby. I'll see you later, okay?"

She nodded her head once more with a small smile and squeezed my hand with hers. I smiled back at her before moving out of the delivery room. I took a deep breath and ran my hands through my hair.

Jenna moved over to me and pulled me into a tight hug. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. As she hugged me she spoke in a soft voice, "You did a great job in there too, Damon. You sure as hell proved me wrong."

"Proved you wrong?"

She pulled away and looked at me with a serious face. "When you and Elena told me that she was pregnant, I can't begin to tell you how worried I was. I know your track record. I know how you are. How could I not be worried about my niece after hearing that she was carrying your child? I thought you would skip town, throw all of the responsibility on her, but you didn't. You really did surprise me, Damon."

"Leaving Elena alone was never an option. It never will be an option."

"Because you love her," Jenna gave me a small smile.

If I were a human, my heart would have started to beat rapidly as it always did when someone mentioned my love for Elena. I would have probably blushed too. Humans always do that in these kinds of situations. Instead, I nodded in a serious manner and said, "Because I love her and our baby."

"Are you going to tell her anytime soon?" Jenna asked me as we started to move through the halls.

"A part of her knows," I said. "It's just her choice as to what to do with that knowledge."

"What do you want her to do?"

"I want her to do whatever makes her happy, Jenna."

She patted my arm and gave me a comforting smile before pushing the doors to the waiting room open. I took another deep breath before following her through the doorway. I watched as Stefan, Alaric, and Jeremy looked up. They rushed over to us quickly asking us how everything went.

"How's the baby? Did everything go okay?" Stefan asked.

"How's Elena?" Alaric asked.

"Are they alright?" Jeremy asked.

I gave them a small smile. "Both of them are great. The baby is perfectly healthy. She's seven pounds, two ounces, and twenty inches long. She looks just like Elena," I explained.

"Oh shut up. She has your eyes," Jenna rolled her eyes with a small grin. "Elena did wonderful. She's resting now."

I chuckled and ran a hand through my hair again.

Stefan moved over to me and stood in front of me for a minute. We both stared at each other, staying silent, before he cleared his throat. "Congratulations, brother," Stefan gave me a small smile.

I pulled him into a hug and patted his back. He patted mine before pulling away.

"Thank you, Stefan," I said. "I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there to get Elena here. I owe you."

He shrugged his shoulders and stepped back so Jeremy and Alaric could congratulate me. I smiled at them as they did so.

"So where's the baby?" Jeremy asked.

"The nursery," Jenna said.

"Well that does us no good. Let's go see her," Alaric said.

I grinned when Alaric said that. He practically read my mind. I turned around and we headed towards the nursery. The cries grew louder and louder as we got closer. Finally we stopped in front of the glass of crying babies and my eyes scanned over the babies. I found her instantly, smirking when I saw she was the only one not crying. "There's my baby girl," I pointed her out.

"Holy shit. She does look like Elena," Jeremy said.

"I see she's the most well behaved baby in there," Alaric said.

"Of course she is. She's my baby. What do you expect?" I continued to smirk.

"She's adorable," Stefan commented.

I stood back and watched as they all cooed over my baby with a grin. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see a nurse.

"Which baby is yours, sir?" she asked me.

"The quiet one," I chuckled. "Salvatore."

The nurse laughed a little and then said, "She'll be ready to visit her Mommy in ten minutes for a feeding. We'll bring her in the room for you."

I thanked the nurse and cleared my throat as she went back into the nursery. I looked over at the others and said, "I'm going to head to Elena's room. Any of you coming with?"

Jenna looked over and shook her head. "No. Go and spend time with her and your daughter. We'll be in first thing tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Just go, Damon," Alaric chuckled.

I gave them all a small smile before turning around and heading to Elena's room. I walked in and saw her lying on the bed with closed eyes. I took that moment to slip into the bathroom and slip out of the annoying hospital scrubs. They did absolutely nothing for my looks. Soon I looked normal in my dark jeans and grey shirt, then moved out of the bathroom. When I turned after closing the door quietly, I saw Elena looking at me.

"You're supposed to be sleeping," I shook my head at her.

"I never really listen to anyone," she chuckled.

"I know that better than anyone," I chuckled with her. I sat down on the edge of the bed and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," she nodded her head. "Where's the baby?"

"In the nursery. I just saw her. She was the most behaved baby," I grinned.

"She was just born and you're already bragging."

"Of course I am. My child is clearly the best," I said in a matter of fact tone.

Elena rolled her eyes and fought back a small smile. I smirked at her as she continued to try and fight the smile, but eventually she smiled and shook her head at me. "Did Jenna go home?"

"They're all heading home. Jenna said they will all be back tomorrow morning to see you two."

"It must be really late. They didn't have to stay," Elena frowned.

I rolled my eyes. "Only you would feel bad right now."

"Damon they've been in this hospital all night because of me."

"They've been in this hospital because they love you and they love the baby you just gave birth to you. You weren't here holding them hostage," I said. "Relax, Gilbert."

"Gilbert? What happened to preggo?"

"You aren't pregnant anymore so I can't call you that."

Before she could say anything else, we heard the door open and looked over. I smiled when I saw the nurse push the bassinet in.

"I have someone who wants to see her parents," the nurse smiled.

I stood up to get out of the nurse's way as she pushed the bassinet right next to the hospital bed. Elena sat up and looked at the baby with a smile, holding her arms out. The nurse laid the baby in her arms and took a step back.

"Hello again, baby girl," Elena said.

I sat back down on the bed and watched them with a small smile. The baby was staring up at Elena as if trying to memorize everything about her. Elena was looking down at her as she spoke in a soft tone about how excited she had been to hold her. As she spoke, her eyes began to tear up again. "She's so beautiful, Damon," she whispered to me. "She's going to look just like you. She has your dark hair and your eyes."

"You think so?" I asked as I moved closer to them. "I think she looks more like you, although I would love it if she looked like me."

"No," Elena shook her head. "She's going to take after you when it comes to looks. Let's just hope she doesn't have your personality."

"My personality is fantastic. I take offense to that," I grinned.

"Excuse me, Ms. Gilbert, I just need to take down the baby's name and then I'll leave you three alone," the nurse said.

"A name…" Elena looked up at the nurse, biting her lip. She looked over at me and I thought she wanted me to name her.

"It's up to you, Elena," I said.

She gulped and paused for a minute before asking, "What was your Mother's name?"

"Her name was Marie," I answered quickly. "Why?"

Elena looked back over to the nurse. What she said next I would have never predicted. "Her name is Marie Miranda Salvatore."

The nurse smiled and wrote it down on the card to attach to the bassinet before explaining to us where the bottles and diapers could be found. She then left us alone and I looked over at Elena with wide eyes. "Elena…"

"We've never spoken about your Mother, but I know that she was important to you and that you were close from what Stefan has told me in the past. I've wanted to do this for a while, but I've never found the right time to tell you."

I couldn't even say anything to her. I couldn't express what I was feeling even if I wrote a novel. There were just too many feelings. I moved even closer to her and brushed my lips across her forehead softly, lingering for a moment before pulling away. I looked her in the eyes as I said, "You have no idea how thankful I am."

She smiled and broke our eye contact to look down at our baby, Marie. She looked back up at me and said, "I think it's time you held her."

"No," I shook my head. "She's much more comfortable with you. I don't think I should hold her." I couldn't hold her. Marie was so tiny and delicate, the complete opposite of me. I could easily hurt her.

"Damon you aren't going to hurt her," Elena spoke to me in a soft tone. She sat up more and instructed me to hold my arms out. I gulped as I did. Soon she was placing Marie in my arms and I felt my eyes tear up as she did.

I leaned back onto the pillow as I looked down at my baby. "Hi," I said. "Hi Marie."

She stared up at me with her beautiful blue eyes. I lifted my hand to run a finger down her soft face gently, smiling when she gripped my finger with her tiny hand. I chuckled and said, "You have a pretty strong grip. That's good. No guy is going to mess with you and if they do, they're going to regret it."

Elena giggled and I looked over at her with a small smile. She rested her head on my shoulder and I looked back at Marie.

"You're a beautiful little girl. Do you know that?" I continued to speak to her. "You're beautiful, just like your Mommy. We've been waiting for a very long time to see you, especially Mommy. I think she's happy that you won't be kicking her stomach in the middle of the night."

Marie continued to stare at me and I continued to smile. I leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. I whispered to her, "I'm going to try to be the best Daddy. I promise. I love you, Marie."

For the next couple of minutes, I just laid there quietly on the hospital bed next to Elena. Both of us stared at Marie. Even she didn't make any noise. Elena kept her head on my shoulder as I rested my cheek on top of her head. I had a smile on my face as I looked down at Marie. I finally had my baby girl.

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><p>I've been waiting to write this chapter since the minute I started this story. We still have a few more chapters left. Thank you all so much for all the wonderful reviews. I hope you like this chapter. :)<p> 


	35. Chapter 35

**Elena's P.O.V**

I spent two days in the hospital. Not one minute of my time there was spent alone. Jenna, Alaric, Jeremy, and Stefan came to see me. Caroline and Bonnie came to see me too, but only once. They spent the entire day with me. Damon never left my side. On the first night when the nurse told him that visiting hours were over and that he had to leave, he compelled her and all the other nurses to let him stay. I didn't want him to do that but Damon never listens to me.

After those two days I went back home with Marie. I was happy to see that everything I didn't get the chance to do was taken care of by Jenna and Jeremy. All of her clothes had been put away in her dresser, the cradle was set up in my room, and the finishing touches on the nursery had been finished. I was surprised to find the couch set up as well and when I asked what the sheets and pillows were for, Damon told me that he was going to stay with us for a little bit.

Now here we were, a week after Marie was born, sitting on the couch. Marie had just been put down for a nap after crying for two straight hours.

"You're really quiet," I said in a low voice.

"I'm thinking," Damon said.

"Thinking about what?"

"I think we brought the wrong baby home."

"We did not bring the wrong baby home," I laughed a little. "You made sure of that."

"Don't make fun of me. I was double checking."

"Damon you followed the nurse to the nursery and said your name at least thirty times so she knew what baby to send home."

"Elena I read stories where parents accidentally take home the wrong baby," he said. He looked over at me with a serious face. "It's happened before. I think we brought home the wrong baby."

"No we didn't," I shook my head as a grin.

"But she was so behaved in the hospital and she's done nothing but cry here!" Damon exclaimed.

"She's a baby, Damon. Babies cry."

He sighed and kicked his shoes off as I giggled.

"I'm glad you think I'm funny, Elena."

"I think you're hilarious."

"Of course," he rolled his eyes. He stood up and moved over to his duffel bag to grab his clothes for the night then moved to the bathroom to change.

While he did that, I laid my head back on the couch and closed my eyes. I hadn't been getting much sleep lately because of Marie. I felt like I had been sitting there with my eyes closed for an hour, when it was actually only a couple of minutes. I opened them when I heard Damon come back down the stairs in black pajama pants and a black shirt.

"She's out like a light," Damon told me.

I shrugged my shoulders as I sat up a little bit. "She'll be up at 3 as usual to be fed. It's ten now."

"So that gives us a few hours of peace and quiet," he chuckled.

I nodded my head as I yawned for what had to be the tenth time that night. I shook my head to wake myself up a little bit before standing up. I wanted to straighten up a little bit before going to bed. As I bent down to pick up a couple of bottles, I felt Damon's hand on my lower back.

"Elena what are you doing?" I heard him ask in a soft voice.

I stood up straight with two bottles in each hand and tried to ignore the way my stomach was twisting because of where his hand was. "I'm cleaning," I said. "For a little baby, she sure does leave a bit of a mess. There's bottles, empty wipe packages, and I have to take the bag of diapers out."

"Elena you can't be doing a lot. You know what Doctor McCarthy said," Damon gave me a stern look.

"It's not like I had a c-section done. I'm fine, Damon. I can clean," I gave him a reassuring smile.

"I know you can clean, but you shouldn't, so sit," Damon said as he took my arms in his hands gently and put me back down on the couch.

I didn't bother to argue with him. He didn't want me cleaning. I knew he wouldn't let me no matter what I said. I put my legs up on the couch and sat back, watching him move around. I never thought I would see the day where Damon Salvatore would be walking around as he cleaned. We both didn't say anything. It was silent and we were both comfortable with that.

My eyes started to close again. I tried to keep them open, but every once in a while they would flutter shut.

"Hey," Damon nudged me in the shoulder.

"Hm?" I opened my eyes and sat up straight.

"Get some sleep," he chuckled. "You're falling asleep on the couch."

"No I'm not," I shook my head. Right after I said that, my mouth opened in a huge yawn causing him to chuckle again.

"Go to sleep, Elena," he chuckled.

I sighed and stood up from the couch. "I'll see you in a couple of hours when Marie wakes up," I said to him.

He smiled and kissed my forehead before pushing me gently towards the staircase. "Good night, Elena," he said.

"Good night Damon," I smiled back at him before making my way upstairs.

Before crawling into bed, I looked into the cradle. I smiled when I saw Marie sleeping peacefully with her tiny hands in fists next to her head and her feet curled up close to her. I stroked her hair gently before pulling my hand back and turning around. It was time to sleep before I passed out from exhaustion. It didn't take me long to get comfortable under the blankets and soon, I was falling asleep.

I didn't get to sleep long. A couple of hours later, I heard the familiar sound of Marie crying. I opened my eyes as she seemed to get louder and rubbed at my eyes. I went to sit up and get out of bed but paused when I heard footsteps on the stairs.

"I'm coming, baby. Don't worry," I heard coming from outside of my room. It was Damon. I laid back down and pretended to still be sleeping.

I heard the door open and his footsteps get closer as he said, "Alright, alright. Daddy's here."

Marie kept crying but I heard the sound move away from me. I figured Damon was probably walking around with her.

"Come on, kid. I'm taking you downstairs. Your Mommy needs sleep," he whispered to her.

I opened my eyes once he was out of the room and waited a little bit before sitting up. Marie was still crying and I could here him move around in the kitchen preparing a bottle for her. I stood up and tiptoed over to the top of the stairs and sat down, listening carefully. A couple of minutes went by until Marie stopped crying, probably because Damon had given her the bottle.

"You've got some set of lungs, Marie," Damon chuckled. "One day you're going to wake up this entire block. I think you get that from your Mom. She can get pretty loud when she gets angry. Trust me, I've been on the receiving end of her anger."

I rolled my eyes at what he said and shook my head. I leant my elbow on my knee and rested my chin in my palm as I continued to listen to Damon talk to Marie.

"We still love you even if you are loud. You're too cute and adorable, so we'll ignore the loud part. You know, I think you look just like your Mommy. Everyone says you look like me because you have my eyes, but I don't think so. You're beautiful, just like your Mommy."

I smiled a little when I heard him say that and I could feel my cheeks turning red.

"Marie Miranda Salvatore…" Damon said. "You're a miracle baby. Did you know that? I bet you didn't. I'm going to tell you a story."

What story could he tell her? I was confused and moved down a couple of steps to hear him more clearly. I made sure I was quiet so he wouldn't figure out I was sitting on the stairs. Hopefully his vampire senses didn't kick in.

"When I was young a long, long time ago, I always wanted a family. I always wanted to marry a woman that I loved and have a huge family with her. Unfortunately, evil people who I will tell you about when you are much, much older came into the picture and messed everything up. I thought I would never get what I wanted. I couldn't get what I wanted. But now here I am with you in my arms. It didn't happen the way I wanted it to happen but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you, Marie."

I felt my eyes tear up as he spoke. My heart was melting and I wanted to rush over to him so I could pull him into a hug.

"Don't tell anyone that I got so emotional, okay? You're the only person who can know that. Can you keep that a secret?"

I stood up and moved into the living room as Damon said to Marie, "Here let's shake on it." I giggled when Damon shook her hand carefully. He heard me giggle and looked up at me.

"There's another thing you should know, Marie. Your Mother is very nosey and does not listen to anyone," he smirked.

I rolled my eyes and moved over to him. I saw that he was laying down on his side with Marie next to him. "Move over," I said. "I want to lay down too."

He looked a little surprised but sat up with Marie in his arms. I laid down with my back against the couch and he laid next to me, then placed Marie on top of his chest. She was laying on her stomach and was facing me. I smiled at her and stroked her hair again as I said in a soft voice, "Hi baby."

We laid on the small couch in complete silence. Even Marie was quiet. After a while, I placed my head on Damon's shoulder and rested my hand against chest right next to Marie. I felt him smile into my hair and kiss my head gently, which caused me to smile too. I stayed awake until Marie fell asleep and once she did, I closed my eyes. I could feel his fingers moving up and down my arm slowly, giving me a sense of comfort. After a while, we were all sleeping on the couch with a smile on my face and on Damon's face. We were a happy family and I couldn't think of anything better.


	36. Chapter 36

I feel horrible. I am so, so, so sorry that it took me so long to update. There was a lot going on and I couldn't find time to sit down to write. Even when I had the time, I couldn't find the right words for this chapter. I'm sorry!

I would also like to say that this story is coming to a close. After this chapter, there will only be two chapters left. I am beyond sad, because I love this story, but I'm happy to announce that I will be working on another story right after this one. I hope you all like that one too.

Thank you to everyone who has favorited and followed this story, as well as left reviews! I'm very happy to see that so many of you enjoy this story. Please leave me a review after this chapter and tell me what you think. :)

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><p><strong>Damon's P.O.V<strong>

"When are you going to start talking, kid?" I looked down at Marie as she rested in her swing. She looked up at me with her wide eyes that I loved and I chuckled. "No answer? I see how it is."

It was November. Marie was two months old, growing more and more as the days went on. I had unofficially moved into the Gilbert residence. Jenna wasn't thrilled but I didn't like being away from my daughter.

I turned away from Marie to continue cleaning up. Empty and half filled bottles filled the coffee table, while the floor was covered in baby toys. Marie began to shout and I chuckled, turning back to face her. "What?" I said. She shouted at me again and I stomped my foot playfully, moving back over to her. "I have a mess to clean, little girl."

In response, Marie blew raspberries at me and I chuckled as I scooped her up into my arms. "I can see that you won't let me get any cleaning done," I shook my head at her. As she sat in my arms, she turned her head around to examine her surroundings. She had gotten better at holding her head up and was always looking around. For a two month old baby, she was pretty curious.

I dropped down on the couch and kicked my feet up on the coffee table as Marie sat in my lap, leaning against my chest. She banged her hands on my knees and I turned, looking for something she could play with. I picked up a remote and turned the TV on, switching to the Disney channel. A show she had started to like recently was on and I sighed with relief. As the show instantly grabbed her attention, I tossed my head back and took a deep breath.

For once in my life, I was tired. There was once a time where I could take on twenty vampires and still be up for going out to a bar after. Now I was in a time where I had an alarm set so I could wake up before Marie and get bottles ready for her so Elena didn't have to get up. I was in a time where I napped when Marie napped. I was in a time where I got up at six in the morning to feed Marie while watching Blue's Clues. I was in a time where at seven o' clock at night, I was ready to crawl into bed and pass out. Weird, huh?

It sure as hell was a different lifestyle, but it was nothing I didn't expect. I knew from the minute that Elena told me she was pregnant that my life was going to change. I wanted that. I wanted everything to change and it did, all because of the little girl bouncing happily in my lap. I picked my head up to look at her, smiling like I always did when I looked at her. She was the reason why I was happy with this new lifestyle.

"We're home!"

I turned my head to look at the door, watching as the other reason to my happiness stepped in.

Elena.

I picked Marie off of my lap and laid her down in front of the TV, giving her a toy to play with. I stepped over to the door as Elena and Jenna shuffled in, carrying tons of grocery bags.

"How's Marie?" Elena asked me.

"She's in the living room being hypnotized by the television," I said as I took some of the bags from her.

"Jake and the Neverland Pirates, again?" Elena laughed.

"My favorite," I grinned sarcastically.

She rolled her eyes and leaned up to kiss me on the cheek once her coat was off. After, she walked past me and into the living room shouting, "Mommy's home!"

I stayed standing there for a minute, watching her bend down to pick Marie up. I had a smile on my face that I couldn't get rid of as I thought of how different things between us were. I shuffled into the kitchen with my thoughts and started to put the groceries away.

Things with Elena and I were slowly moving along. We spent more time together, with and without Marie, simply talking about whatever popped into our heads. We still had our arguments over small things, like when I would insist that Elena needed a night to herself to catch up on some sleep. Then there was the time when she had cooked dinner and with one taste of the mashed potatoes, I knew the rest of the meal would be inedible. I received a good smack against the head that night.

She was still stubborn. I was still sarcastic. Certain things about us didn't change. We knew they would always be like that and that it was something we would deal with. Then there were the things that changed completely. At some point, she learned how to outwit me. There were many occasions where I was left standing in one spot, shocked at something she had said as she gave me a smirk worthy to compete against my own. I started to hear her out when she came up with some crazy idea, even though I didn't agree in the end anyway.

My favorite new development of hers was that she was more comfortable around me. I would receive random kisses on the cheek throughout the day, like the one I received moments ago and every once in a while she would lay next to me on the couch as I tried to get Marie to fall asleep.

I fell in love with her more and more as each day passed. Marie brought us closer, closer than I ever thought we could be. I looked up from the fridge to see her spinning around with Marie. I smiled at the sight. Elena and I may have not been dating. We were a family and that was better than anything else.

"So what did you do with Daddy today, Marie?" Elena asked. She wandered into the kitchen and sat down at the table, setting Marie in her lap.

"He sure as hell didn't clean," Jenna hit me in the arm.

"I tried but Marie prevented me from doing so," I turned to look at Jenna.

"How could a two month old baby stop you from cleaning?"

"She kept yelling at me everytime I turned my back," I said. I looked over at Marie who was staring up at me. "Tell them it's true, Marie."

She started to shriek, just like she did as I tried to clean before and I grinned at Jenna in a, "I told you so" manner.

Jenna rolled her eyes and looked at Elena. "I'm heading to Ric's. Call me if you need anything."

"Have fun," Elena smiled up at her Aunt.

"Tell Ric I miss him!" I shouted at Jenna's back as she walked out.

When the door closed I looked back at Elena and asked, "Will she ever like me?"

"She likes annoying you. Does that count?"

I rolled my eyes, causing her to giggle, and went back to putting the groceries away. "What are we doing for food?"

"I bought chicken. I figured we could do something with that," Elena said. "Did Marie eat?"

"Yes she did. I fed her then went to put her down for a nap but she wouldn't sleep. I walked back and forth with her, put her in the swing, but nothing worked," I explained. I moved around the kitchen as I started to prepare dinner. "Is grilled chicken pasta salad good?"

"Anything you make is good, Damon. Must you ask me every night?"

"I like hearing you compliment my food," I smirked.

She rolled her eyes and went back in the living room to play with Marie. I continued to move around, gathering everything up before I could start cooking.

"Hey Damon?" Elena asked me a few minutes later.

"What's up, Gilbert?"

"Do you want to watch a movie when Marie goes to sleep? It's Friday and she usually sleeps in on Saturdays, so we don't have to kill ourselves to get up early."

"Don't you mean I don't have to kill myself to get up early?" I grinned at her from my spot in the kitchen. She began to frown instantly and I laughed. It was easy to make her feel bad.

"Why do you have to go there? You know I feel bad about you getting up so early every day," Elena sighed.

"Elena I'm messing with you," I chuckled as I tossed a dishtowel at her. "Lighten up!"

"Just answer the question, Damon."

"What question?"

"Do you want to watch a movie or not?"

"I would love to watch a movie with you, Miss Gilbert," I winked at her. "But if you pick anything girly, I'm out."

"Oh come on!" she shouted. "'Beethoven' was not girly!"

"It was a dog movie, Elena. All dog movies are girly," I rolled my eyes. "Oh I know what we can watch. Let's watch 'A Nightmare on Elm Street', the original. It's a classic."

"I am not watching that, Damon," she gave me a bored look.

"Well it looks like we won't be watching anything!" I grinned at her playfully.

Marie shrieked in Elena's lap and I laughed. "Yell at Mommy, Marie!"

Elena turned Marie so they were facing and rubbed their noses together. "Don't listen to Daddy. I'm your favorite."

"Actually I'm her favorite," I snorted. I walked away from the kitchen and bent down to pick Marie up, kissing her cheek. She threw her head down onto my shoulder and started to suck on her fist like she always did when I held her.

"She is such a Daddy's girl," Elena shook her head with a small smile.

"I have no problem with her being a Daddy's girl," I said with a smile of my own. I kissed her head again before moving back into the kitchen, easily working to finish dinner with Marie in my arms as Elena relaxed on the couch.

Once dinner was ready, I grabbed a bottle for Marie and laid her down in the playpen that was set up in the living room. Elena and I ate in the living room so we could keep an eye on her, making small talk as we ate.

This was our nightly routine that we had grown into. I would cook dinner every night and as we ate, Marie would drink a bottle. Elena would take care of the dishes once we were done eating as I changed Marie into a fresh diaper and a new pair of pajamas. Then I would head upstairs to Elena's room to put Marie to sleep. It was pretty easy to get her to sleep if she was having a good day. I would walk back and forth for a little bit in the dark, rubbing her back slowly. After putting her down in the cradle, I would take the baby monitor downstairs along with a pair of pajamas for Elena to change into. Unfortunately, I wasn't allowed to pick anything provocative.

I handed Elena her pajamas and set the monitor down on the table so we could hear if Marie woke up. I kicked my shoes off and relaxed against the couch as I went through the channels to see if anything good was on TV.

"Still against watching any girly movies?" Elena asked as she stepped downstairs.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Does it look like I changed my mind?"

"A girl can hope," she giggled. She grabbed a pillow and sat next to me, holding it against her chest.

I handed her the remote saying, "Here. I trust you to choose wisely."

She took the remote and went through the channels, finally choosing 'The Breakfast Club'. "Did I do good?" she asked me.

"Not bad. You could have chosen 'The Silence of the Lambs' but I'll settle for this," I shrugged.

She laughed and leaned back against the couch. We sat in silence for a little bit as we watched the five teenagers converse in the library.

"Was Marie good while I was gone?" Elena asked in a soft voice after a while.

"She's always good with me," I scoffed.

"What are you going to do when she's bad one day?"

"I won't have to worry about that. Marie is a good baby," I smirked.

"Yes she is but all good babies have their bad days," Elena tilted her head at me with a small smile.

"Not my baby," I continued to smirk.

She laughed and shook her head at me.

"What are you shaking your head for?"

"It's nothing bad. Relax," she said.

"Then what is it?"

A moment of silence passed. Neither of us said anything. We sat on the couch staring at each other and I could hear Elena's heart start beating a little faster. I held back a smirk as her eyes dropped down to my lips as they always did.

"I was just thinking about how you're such a great Father," she said.

I froze, my eyes unable to look anywhere but into her eyes. Elena had told me many times that I would be a great Father when I was doubtful, but I hadn't heard it once since she had the baby. I swallowed and licked my lips, not knowing what to say. I felt my heart swell and if I were human, I probably would have blushed. "Thank you," I whispered to her with a small smile.

"You don't have to thank me, Damon," Elena shook her head a little as she pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "I knew you would be. A part of me has always known. I love seeing you with Marie. You always have her smiling and she always has you smiling. It's amazing."

I laughed a little at her words but said nothing in return. I couldn't find any words to express how I felt. Instead I kept smiling at her.

"What are you smiling at?" Elena asked with a laugh of her own.

"I'm smiling at you," I said. Her lips turned upwards into a smile of her own and I took a deep breath, whispering her name, "Elena…"

Before she could respond, I closed the space between us and covered her lips with my own. My hands went to rest on the sides of her neck as my thumb traced her jaw line slowly. She kissed me back instantly, filling me with happiness and hope. I ran my tongue along her lower lip and she opened her mouth in response, allowing me to deepen the kiss. I felt her throw the pillow off the couch and grip at my shirt. I fell onto her as we kissed and she laughed a little, causing me to smile. I moved my hands to hold myself up as I continued to kiss her, the kiss slowly escalating from a soft one to a heated one. I pressed myself against her and heard her moan, the sound going straight to my pants. I pressed myself against her again to hear her moan once more, pulling away to look at her with dark eyes as she did.

Elena's eyes fluttered open as she gasped for breath, looking up at me. I grinned as I took in her flushed cheeks and swollen lips.

"What?" she asked me.

I shook my head and stroke her cheek with my knuckles, saying after a moment, "You are so beautiful."

She smiled and leaned up to initiate another kiss, one that I happily returned. As we kissed, I couldn't think of any better way to spend a Friday night. I didn't know what this kiss meant. I didn't know when it would end, if it ever did end, and I didn't know what it would bring to us in the future. The only thing I knew was that I sure as hell wouldn't be the one to stop it.


	37. Chapter 37

**Elena's P.O.V**

I didn't want to stop. Even if I wanted to, I don't think I would have been able to. I had been thinking of a night like this for months. I had been thinking about being pinned under him as our lips were locked. It was as if he couldn't pull away.

"Damon…" I moaned as his lips moved to attach to the sensitive spot on my neck. I could feel him smirk as he continued to kiss my skin, nipping at it with his teeth occasionally.

I grabbed his hair a minute later, needing to kiss him again. I pushed my lips against his in a passionate manner. His hands wrapped around my waist and I gasped as he pulled us both up farther on the bed. I threw my head back onto the pillows as we continued to kiss and found my hands travelling to the bottom of his shirt. Once I grabbed onto it, my hands stopped.

I pulled away from the kiss and looked up at him, taking deep breaths. He looked back down at me and I felt myself getting lost in his eyes.

"What are we doing, Elena?" he asked. I almost groaned at how rough his voice sounded.

I licked my lips and shook my head. I didn't know. I couldn't give him an answer.

"I need an answer," he continued to speak.

"I can't give you one," I whispered. I turned my head away from his intense gaze, finding it hard to breath. As I looked at the wall, I felt his hand touch my cheek gently. I turned back to look at him as he stroked my cheek with his thumb.

He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine in a way he never had before. It was soft and brief. It was a kiss you wouldn't expect from him. My eyes fluttered shut and only opened moments later when I heard him chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?" I asked him.

"You," Damon grinned.

"What did I do?" I suddenly started to feel embarrassed.

"Nothing, except for look insanely adorable."

I blushed as I looked up at him and felt the corners of my lips turn upwards. I leaned up a little to brush my lips against his, just like he had done to me moments ago. He slid his hand to the back of my neck so I couldn't pull away as he deepened the kiss. His tongue slid along my lower lip and I moaned. We were back into kissing heatedly, his hands tangled in my hair while my hands gripped at his shirt.

"Take it off. I know you want," Damon smirked as he continued to kiss me.

I rolled my eyes and pulled away to rip his shirt over his head. I tossed it to the side and stared at his chest for a moment, desire filling my entire body. I looked up to see him smirking still.

"Like what you see?" Damon asked.

I pushed him gently and he laughed as he grabbed my wrists in his hands gently. He tugged me up against his bare chest and continued to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around his neck as I smiled, allowing him to press me into the bed again.

"You have way too many clothes on," he muttered.

"I think I'm good," I said in a teasing voice.

"I disagree," Damon whispered in my ear. His hands inched down towards the end of my shirt and I held my breath as he pulled the shirt up slowly. He pulled it up but stopped suddenly. I pulled away from the kiss as Marie started to scream in her cradle. I pushed Damon off, jumping off the bed as I pulled my shirt back down.

"Alright, Marie," I sighed. I pushed my hair out of the way as I bent down to pick her up.

"I'll get her bottle," Damon said.

I nodded my head. As he left the room and headed downstairs, I started to rock back and forth as I held Marie. She continued to cry and I whispered to her in a soothing voice, "Alright, baby. Mommy's got you. Daddy's going to get you a bottle. Does that sound good?"

She continued to cry and I shut my eyes. I continued to rock back and forth for a couple of more minutes before Damon came back in.

"Do you want me to feed her?" he asked in a low voice.

"No," I shook my head and reached out with a hand to grab the bottle. Once I had a tight grip on it, I moved over to sit down on the bed. I sat up and held Marie as I began to feed her. At first she fought me, but she eventually gave in and began to drink. I took a deep breath and looked up at Damon with a small laugh, "Still think she's the best baby ever?"

He laughed with me as he sat down on my bed. "All babies cry when they're hungry. She's still the best baby ever," Damon grinned at me.

I found myself smiling back a little as he grinned and pulled my eyes away from his. I looked down at Marie and whispered, "You have Daddy wrapped around your little finger, baby girl."

"She's not the only girl who has gotten me wrapped around their finger, Elena."

I took a deep breath when he said that. I lifted my eyes slowly to meet his, but I felt all air leave my body when I did. I had never seen his eyes so blue. They were filled with hope, vulnerability, and something I had never wanted to admit to myself until recently: love.

Damon loved me. It wasn't Mystic Fall's greatest secret. I used to push the idea of him loving me out of my mind. I couldn't see how someone like Damon could love anyone, so I ignored his feelings. I continued to act as his friend, never taking things too far. Despite all of that, I would be lying if I said I never thought of how him and I could be.

In the past few months, I caught a glimpse of what could be if we were together. Obviously it all started the night we slept together. I could feel my body react instantly as I thought of how well our bodies fit together. His hands fit in mine perfectly and as I thought of that, I looked down at his hand resting next to my leg. I thought of how my name rolled off of his tongue as he moaned. I thought of how he held me as we both reached our climax. His arms wrapped around me tight, making me feel safe. We were both drunk, but I couldn't say that I didn't feel anything.

It was so easy being around him when I was pregnant. He made me feel comfortable. Damon took care of me. We definitely grew closer during those nine months. Things were rough for us but that didn't matter. It didn't matter because at this point in time, things could only get better for us.

"Elena," Damon said.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up at him.

"Are you alright?" he chuckled.

"Yeah," I shook my head as I lifted Marie to burp her. I rubbed her back before patting it gently, trying to get my thoughts straight.

"You kind of zoned out on me."

"Sorry," I bit my lip. "I was just thinking."

"What were you thinking about?" he asked in a soft voice.

Lying was pointless. I couldn't lie to him. I cleared my throat before saying, "Us."

I looked up at him slowly, nervous to see his reaction.

He licked his lips before saying, "What about us?"

"Just about how far we've gotten," I continued to speak. Marie burped and I moved to hold her in my arms again. I gave her bottle back and exhaled before looking back at Damon. "We hated each other. You wanted me dead. I wanted you to leave town."

"I'm failing to see how these thoughts were good…" Damon frowned.

"Why do you automatically think all thoughts of you are good?"

His frown was gone instantly and replaced with a smirk as he said, "Because I'm Damon Salvatore."

"I'm trying to be serious, Damon," I sighed.

He started to laugh and shook his head. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "Continue."

"I was trying to say that we went from being on horrible terms to this. We have a baby, Damon," I said as I looked down at Marie. "She's one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me."

"One of the things? What are the other things?" Damon asked.

I took a deep breath. This was it.

"Her Father is one of the other things," I said in a soft voice.

Our eyes connected and I gave him a small smile. His face was blank, causing me to worry. I started to panic. What if I had said the wrong thing? I continued to stare at him, hoping he would say something soon. His eyes lit up suddenly as he began to smirk.

"I heard her Father is a bit of an asshole."

"Ha!" I laughed shortly. "Oh you have no idea. He is the biggest asshole I have ever met. He makes me want to pull my hair out and hit him repeatedly. He pushes me to the brink of insanity. He may have caused me to grow a few grey hair strands. He's sarcastic, cocky, irritating, and so many other things!"

"Alright, Elena. You're going a bit too far," he shook his head.

"Nope! Not finished!" I said to him. I couldn't stop now. "He does all of these things to me and sometimes I can't stand to be around him, but then he'll tell me that I look beautiful. He'll tell me a joke just to see me laugh. He gets up every morning an hour early before our daughter just so I can sleep and so he can have everything ready for her when she wakes up. He tries his best to get along with my family. He sits through Disney movies with me and even though he says he hates them, I know he's lying."

"Elena…" Damon whispered.

"You are one of the greatest things in my life, Damon," I gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry that I've been fighting this. I'm sorry that everyone has been stating the obvious and I just decided to ignore it. I'm sorry for putting you through the ringer. Things are different now. They've been different and I realized it the first time I saw you hold Marie."

A moment of silence passed between us and I took that moment to stand up so I could put Marie back in her cradle. I leaned down and rubbed her back a little before standing up straight. I turned around and bumped into Damon's hard chest. I looked up at him to see the same vulnerable look I had seen moments ago.

"Say it," he whispered. He reached up with a hand and rested it on my cheek. I leaned into his hand with a small smile and slid my hand over his. "I need to hear you say it, Elena. Even if it's just for tonight, even if you change your mind in a day or a week, or even in an hour, I just need to hear it once," Damon pleaded with me.

"I'm not going to change my mind," I shook my head. I stepped closer to him and leaned up, brushing my lips against his. I pulled away a second later and smiled up at him as I said the words he had been dying to hear, the words that I had needed to say for a while.

"I love you, Damon," I whispered.

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><p>Yay Delena! Boo, one more chapter!<p> 


	38. Chapter 38

**Damon's P.O.V**

Elena loved me. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I heard her say those words over and over. I leaned down and pressed my lips against hers gently, kissing her slowly but passionately. When I pulled away, I smirked slightly when I saw that I had left her breathless. "It's about time you said those words," I chuckled.

She laughed a little as she looked up at me. "I'm sorry I took so long," Elena gave me a small smile as she apologized.

"You should be sorry," I smirked.

She pushed me a little and I fell to the bed dramatically. As I did I exclaimed in a whisper, "You pushed me! Why are you so mean to me?"

"Oh don't be so dramatic."

I sat up and pulled her down on top of me. I looked up at her with a pout. "I'm hurt. You made me wait so long to hear you say 'I love you' then when you finally say it, you just push me to the bed. What makes you think you could treat me like this?"

She held a hand over her mouth as she started to laugh. I smiled as she laughed and sat up to pull her hand away, then I kissed her softly.

When I pulled away we were both smiling. I picked her up and moved her up on the bed. I leaned against the headboard as she sat in between my legs, resting against my chest. She took my hands in hers and laced our fingers together as I pressed a kiss to her head.

"What do you think everyone's going to say?" she asked in a soft voice.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about when they find out about us. What do you think they'll say?"

"Well some girls may cry for the rest of their life knowing that I'm finally spoken for," I grinned.

"Damon…"

"Then there's Judgey the teenage witch who may try and kill me. Oh and Stefan may take out his frustration on a bunny…"

"Damon!" Elena said as she elbowed me in the stomach.

I chuckled and squeezed her hands. "I'm sure they will be happy. They've been waiting for this for months. You just were too stubborn to realize it," I whispered in her ear.

"I know," she whispered. "But it's all okay now. Right?" Elena turned her head to look at me after.

"Right," I smiled at her. I leaned down to kiss her again and I whispered against her lips, "I'm going to take you out on a proper date. You know that, right?"

"Damon you don't have to," she shook her head.

"I don't. I could not take you anywhere, but I want to. We'll go out to dinner," I grinned at her.

"It'd make no sense to argue with you," Elena sighed.

I smirked and poked her nose as I said, "You know me so well."

She grinned and moved to kiss me. As she turned to face me, she yawned loudly. I chuckled and moved over to tuck her in.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked me in a tired voice.

"Tucking your sleepy ass in," I chuckled.

"No," Elena whined. "I need to go to the store."

"The store?" I gave her a weird look. "Elena it's one in the morning."

"I know but I need wipes for Marie and I just remembered that I don't have anymore," she said as rubbed her face.

"Go to sleep and I'll go to the store. The pharmacy is open twenty four hours," I said as I stood up.

"You don't have to go now."

"I'll be fast. I'll run there, buy the wipes, and run right back," I grabbed my boots and slid them on, lacing them up quickly. "Get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay," she sighed. I watched as she pulled the covers up over herself.

I leaned down and brushed a kiss across her forehead. I whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled.

I smiled back and pulled away to tug my shirt on. I moved out of the room quietly and headed down the stairs. I swung my leather jacket on before exiting the house, taking a deep breath before running off to the pharmacy. I stopped in an alley before walking out calmly. Even though it was late, there were still cars driving around. I didn't want to end up compelling someone. I was too happy for that.

I walked into the pharmacy and looked up at the signs to find the baby things. I finally found it and walked down the aisle, grabbing what I needed quickly. I picked up two packs before heading up to the cashier. As I waited for her to scan the baby wipes, I felt someone staring at me. I looked up and felt nothing but shock.

I found myself looking at a woman with dark skin. Her dark hair fell over her shoulders and her arms were hanging at her sides. Her grey eyes stood out the most. I recognized them instantly.

It was the witch from the bar.

I grabbed my bag and rushed out after throwing a twenty dollar bill onto the counter. My eyes were set on her. I watched her grin before she disappeared outside. I rushed out after her and found myself standing in an empty parking lot.

"Fuck!" I shouted.

"Looking for someone?"

I spun around and saw her standing on the other side of the parking lot. I flashed over to her and grabbed her by the throat, shoving her against the wall.

"Damon, is this the right way to treat me after all I've done for you?" she grinned.

I growled and let her go, but stayed close to her. "I want answers," I said in a low voice.

"What kind of answers?" she asked as she tilted her head in a playful way.

"Don't play with me. I have to get back home to-"

"Elena and the baby, right?"

I paused and took a deep breath, looking at her with dark eyes.

"Walk with me, Damon."

I watched as she pushed herself off the wall and walked past me. I stood in my position, watching her for a little. She turned around and gave me a look, silently telling me to follow her. I found my legs moving as I caught up with her, then we both started to walk along the sidewalk.

It was quiet between us. I was trying to figure out where to begin, but for some reason I couldn't.

"Your mind is filled with questions," she broke the silence. "You have a lot of questions for me."

"Whoa. Aren't you the brightest witch of your age?" I snapped at her. "What's your name anyway? Sabrina?"

"Do you treat all of the witches you meet like this?" she raised an eyebrow at me. "My name is not Sabrina and it isn't Judgey either."

"How'd you know about that?"

"I know everything about you, Damon," she rolled her eyes. "My name is Taylor."

"Alright, Taylor," I said as I stepped in front of her. "If you know everything about me, then you know what questions I want you to answer, so answer them."

"You want to know why you were chosen to have a baby," Taylor said.

"Whoa!" I shouted sarcastically. I clapped my hands as I looked at her, "You are amazing at this!"

"I don't appreciate your sarcasm, Damon. Others may deal with it but I assure you, I won't. I told you why you were chosen at the bar and that is final."

"You didn't tell me shit at the bar," I growled at her.

"I told you that you were a good person. Don't you remember that?"

"Yes I do but I also remember thinking that you were crazy for thinking that. You know who I am. I'm a vampire. We're not good people. We aren't even people to begin with."

"You may be a vampire and you may have killed people in the past, yet deep down you are still as selfless as you were when you were human. There are many people you would give your life up for and you can't deny that."

"But why me?" I asked her. I sounded desperate but I didn't even care at that point. "Why was I chosen to be a Father? I don't understand that."

"Good people deserve good things, Damon," Taylor said. She slid her hands into the pocket of her jacket as she looked at me. I could practically feel her grey eyes digging into the soul I pretended not to have. "When we choose a vampire to give the fertility potion to, we take a lot into consideration. Their past is number one. As a human you were mistreated. No matter what you did, it was never enough. Then you fell in a love with a girl who you wanted to spend the rest of your life with only to have your life flipped upside down."

I couldn't even come up with a sarcastic remark. I felt myself staring at her, breathing heavily. My eyes were locked on hers, my body stiff.

"You did not want this life. For years you have dealt with things that you didn't want to, helped people that didn't deserve your help, and you spent years looking for someone who never deserved you. You fell in love with Elena and have done nothing but protect her and the ones she's loved."

"I snapped her brother's neck," I interrupted her. My voice was shaking. What the fuck? "I threatened to kill her and her friends on many occasions."

"But at the end of the day, why did you choose not to?" Taylor asked me.

"Because…" I swallowed. "Because I love Elena and I can't stand to see her hurt or upset."

"Exactly," Taylor smiled. "You were chosen because I knew that you would be the perfect Father for a baby. You were chosen because I thought you deserved something good in your life."

She stepped to the side and started to walk. I stayed quiet and continued to follow her as my mind processed all that she had said.

"Deep down you know I'm right, Damon," she spoke in a soft voice.

I nodded my head. I nodded because I agreed with her. Everything she had said was one hundred percent right. I did deserve Marie. I did deserve this.

We walked through Mystic Falls quietly. I had more questions and Taylor was waiting patiently for me to answer her. I knew I had to get back home in case Elena woke up and began to worry, but I couldn't leave yet.

"Is there anything else you want to know, Damon?"

"Marie…" I spoke in a small voice. "Nothing will happen to her right?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"She's not the next doppelganger, is she?" I asked. That had been something I started to worry over recently. I never told Elena because I didn't want to worry her. Instead, I kept my thoughts to myself.

"No," she said instantly.

"Oh thank God," I breathed out. I stopped walking to rub my face. I felt like I could jump up and down as the feeling of relief spread throughout my body.

"Your baby is human, inside and out," Taylor continued to speak. "She will not age at a certain rate. She will not turn into a vampire at a certain age. This isn't Twilight."

"So she's normal?" I smiled a little.

"Marie is completely normal," Taylor smiled back at me. "As she grows older, though, she will begin to grow curious as to why her Father and the people around her never seem to age. I'm sure you and Elena will be able to handle that when the time comes."

I nodded my head. That is something I had thought about too. I didn't know if Elena ever wanted to turn, but it was a huge possibility. If her and I both were vampires, I knew that Marie asking to be like us would be a huge possibility as well.

"I wouldn't worry about her turning right now," Taylor interrupted my thoughts. "Marie is just a baby. You have years, Damon. Enjoy them."

"I will," I nodded my head. "Marie is…"

"The greatest thing to happen to you," she smiled.

"Yeah," I nodded my head. "Her and Elena are the greatest things in my life."

"I'm glad," Taylor said. "I told you great things changes would be coming your way. Not only do you have a baby that you always wanted, but you also have the girl too. You need to stop being so stubborn and listen to people when they tell you things."

"Yeah, yeah," I rolled my eyes at her. We both shared a short laugh before I cleared my throat. "I should get home. I don't want Elena to worry."

"Yes. Go home to your family, Damon," Taylor patted me on my back gently.

I looked at her for a little before I whispered, "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I'm sure I have some sort of idea," she grinned. "You're very welcome. Take care, Damon."

She turned and started to walk away.

"Taylor!" I shouted after her.

She turned to look at me, waiting for me to speak.

"Will I ever see you again? I'm sure Elena would love to meet you," I said.

"I'll be around," she smiled. "I'll see you later, Damon."

I watched as she walked away, disappearing into the dark night. I stood there for a moment before shaking my head and racing off to the house. I entered as quietly as I had left, leaving my jacket and shoes at the door. I left one package of wipes downstairs and brought one upstairs with me.

As I stepped into the room, I stood in the doorway for a little bit. I watched as Elena laid in bed, her chest moving up and down with each breath she took. She was lying on her back, her head facing the cradle. She had a small smile on her face, which brought a smile to my face.

In the cradle, Marie slept peacefully. She was lying on her stomach with her hand balled in a small fist. She slept with a small smile on her face just like her Mother. I stepped into the room and over to the cradle. I kneeled down next to it and laid a hand in the cradle, running a finger down her face gently.

"You are such a beautiful baby. Marie," I whispered. "I'm going to promise you something. I know you're sleeping and you won't ever remember this, but I'm going to stick with my promise anyway. Whether you choose to be or not to be just like me, I will never force you into changing your mind. Sure I may disagree with it. I may have good reasons and I may have bad reasons, but no matter what I will always hear you out. I will always support you and I will never leave you alone. You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. You're my miracle, Marie, and I love you so much."

I'll be a man and admit that I started to cry as I made my promise to Marie. I sniffed and stood up to kiss her head gently before I turned to face Elena. I changed into pajama pants before I slid under the blankets.

"Damon?" Elena asked in a tired voice.

"Shhh," I reached out for her and pulled her into my arms gently. She smiled again and laid her head on my chest as I wrapped my arms around her. I kissed her head and chuckled when she fell back asleep quickly.

I took a deep breath and laid my head down on the pillow with my eyes closed. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. For once, I had everything. I wasn't the schmuck holding a bottle of bourbon as I stood on the sidelines watching everyone get what I wanted for so long. I had the girl of my dreams. She was lying in my arms, just as happy as I was. I had the perfect baby who was lying in her cradle right next to the bed.

This was the life I had wanted. This was the life I had needed. I finally had it. Pretty fucking awesome, right?

* * *

><p>Sigh. That is it. 'A Miracle Unexpected' is complete.<p>

I enjoyed writing this story. It's one of my favorites and I'm so happy that so many of you enjoyed it. I received over five hundred reviews for this story. It was favorited by a little over two hundred people and followed by over three hundred people. To me, that is amazing. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story and those who didn't but still enjoyed it, thank you. It means so much to me!

I'll begin working on my new story soon. It's going to be written by myself and one of my close friends. We are both very excited and we hope you enjoy it.

:)


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